President Erdogan brands Dutch ‘Nazi remnants’ in rally dispute

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was due to speak in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Saturday in support of a referendum in Turkey next month to give Mr Erdogan greater powers.

In a quickly escalating row, Turkey then sent its family affairs minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, who was in Germany at the time, by vehicle to Rotterdam.

Supporters of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk to the Dutch consulate in Istanbul on Saturday.

Turkey has already responded furiously to fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally Germany’s refusal to give permission for ministers to hold rallies there, with Erdogan comparing such action to “Nazi practices”.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called the Netherlands’ actions “footsteps of the far-right, of the neo-fascism and neo-Nazism that has been on the rise in Europe in the past five or six years”.

“I understand that they are angry but this is way out of line”, he said.

“This is a man who yesterday made us out for fascists and a country of Nazis”. He also asked them to cast their votes in the April 16 referendum saying it would be best response to the European nations.

The Netherlands on Monday also issued a new travel warning to Dutch citizens in Turkey, urging them to stay “alert across the whole of Turkey”.

Turkish president also voiced support for a proposed constitutional change that would lower the minimum age to become a lawmaker from 25 to 18. “You are supporting terrorists”, Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had sent Germany 4,500 files on terrorists, but Germany did nothing about it. “We are not afraid of this, but their doings are really inhuman”, he said, according to Anadolu.

The Dutch said their decision to cancel Cavusoglu’s flight for “security” and “public safety” came after the Turkish minister’s “threat” to impose sanctions on the Netherlands if the landing permit was revoked.

Around 400,000 people in the Netherlands hold dual Turkish and Dutch citizenship, making them eligible to vote in Turkey’s referendum on expanding presidential power.

On Monday, Ankara said the Dutch ambassador could not return to the country and added parliament would be advised to withdraw from the Dutch-Turkish friendship group.

This led to Mr. Erdoğan accusing the Dutch government of acting like “Nazis” and threatening harsh sanctions.

At dusk in Rotterdam, about 100 pro-Turkish demonstrators had gathered outside the Turkish Consulate with flags in a peaceful protest following the acrimonious words between both governments.

Bayrakli said: “This shows how ridiculous the action of the Dutch government is”.

He said: “I’ve never experienced this before, but we want to be the more prudent party”.

Whichever of the candidates the Dutch population will believe will be decided on Wednesday (15 March) when the polls open at 7.30am local time (6.30 GMT) and close at 9pm (8pm GMT) with the result expected the next day.