“Total tyranny” and “Erdogan has crossed all boundaries.” Why did Türkiye and the Netherlands quarrel?

A diplomatic conflict has broken out between Turkey and the Netherlands. The reason for the quarrel was the ban by the Dutch authorities on a rally in support of the new Turkish Constitution, which the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry wanted to hold in Rotterdam. He was banned from entering the Netherlands, and the Minister for Family Affairs and social policy Turkey, which did arrive in the country, was declared an “undesirable foreigner.” Dutch police also broke up a rally near the Turkish embassy in Rotterdam. Türkiye responded to these actions by harshly criticizing the Netherlands and threatening economic and political sanctions.

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Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, in turn, said that Erdogan, by calling the Dutch fascists, crossed all boundaries: “Of course, these are crazy statements. I understand that they are angry, but this, of course, goes beyond all limits.”

The conflict escalated even more when, after the cancellation of Çavuşoğlu’s visit, the Turkish Minister of Family Affairs and Social Policy decided to arrive in Rotterdam. Fatma Betul Sayam Kaya. She left Germany, where she was at that time, by car. Kaya managed to get to Rotterdam, but Dutch police blocked her from entering the Turkish consulate, citing a “special order from the mayor.”

This became the reason for the minister to condemn the actions of the Dutch authorities, who, in her opinion, “violate all international laws, conventions and human rights” by preventing her from entering the consulate. “Democracy, fundamental rights and freedom of speech are all forgotten in Rotterdam today. Sheer tyranny and oppression!” the minister wrote on her Twitter page.

The Minister for Family Affairs and Social Policy was also not allowed into the crowd that began to gather at the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. Meanwhile, closer to midnight, the number of protesters reached several thousand, people brought Turkish flags and banners with them, reports RTV Rijnmond.

The Dutch government declared Fatma Betul Sayyan Kaya an "undesirable foreigner" and decided to deport her back to Germany. The minister initially did not agree to this, but later the mayor of Rotterdam announced that her motorcade went to Germany, accompanied by police.

Participants in the Turkish rally, having learned about Kay's deportation, began throwing various objects at the police, and law enforcement officers used force, detaining several protesters. By mid-night, Rotterdam police had finally dispersed the demonstrators outside the Turkish embassy.

In response, Turkish police blocked the entrances and exits to the Dutch diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul and asked the Dutch charge d'affaires in Ankara not to return to Turkey to perform his duties for the time being.

“As a protest against the decision of the government of the Netherlands, the chargé ad interim of the Netherlands was summoned to the ministry. It was conveyed to him that we do not want the return for some time of the kingdom’s ambassador to Ankara, who is on vacation outside the republic,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, Erdogan and the decision of the German authorities to cancel the event of the “Union of Turkish Democrats of Europe” with the participation of the country’s Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag and Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci. He compared the bans on Turkish rallies in Germany with the actions of the Nazis.

A diplomatic scandal erupted in relations between Turkey and the Netherlands: Dutch authorities prohibited the landing of a plane carrying the Turkish Foreign Minister, who was flying to a rally in Rotterdam. In this regard, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has already called the charge d'affaires of the Netherlands to explain what is happening.

Çavuşoğlu was originally scheduled to take part in a rally planned for today in Rotterdam to agitate Dutch-Turkish citizens in support of amendments to the Turkish Constitution in the upcoming referendum. Three days ago, the rally was officially canceled due to the revocation of permission for the event, and the day before the Rotterdam mayor's office announced that Çavuşoğlu was prohibited from participating in the rally, even if it took place.

This morning, the Turkish minister decided to fly to Rotterdam anyway, promising to impose sanctions against the Netherlands if he is not allowed into the country. The effect of the statement was the opposite: the Dutch government did not allow the ministerial plane to land on the country’s territory “due to a threat to public order and security.”

“The Netherlands discussed this visit with the Turkish authorities to find an acceptable solution, but even before the dialogue was completed, the Turkish authorities publicly threatened sanctions. This makes finding an acceptable solution impossible, and therefore the Netherlands has decided to refuse to issue a landing permit,” the Dutch government emphasized, adding that it regrets the development of the situation in this scenario and remains committed to dialogue with Turkey.

“Dutch people of Turkish origin have every right to vote in a referendum on amending the Turkish Constitution. The Dutch government has no objection to holding meetings at which they will be provided with the necessary information - but these meetings must not contribute to increasing tension in society, and their organizers must adhere to the instructions of the competent authorities so that security and public order are guaranteed. However, in this case, the Turkish government refused to comply with the established rules,” concluded the Dutch authorities, writes TASS.

The diplomatic row between Turkey and the Netherlands has come to light new level. The Dutch authorities expelled the Turkish minister from the country. Ankara promised an extremely tough response. Experts note: Turkey’s actions only strengthen the position of Eurosceptics in the Netherlands, and Erdogan himself earns political points on the eve of the constitutional referendum in Turkey.

The diplomatic row between Turkey and the Netherlands escalated over the weekend.

“At the same time, one should not underestimate the Dutch, they are, of course, known for cheese, herring and the legalization of soft drugs, but, in principle, they can cope with any diaspora”

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte reproached the Turkish authorities for blackmail, explaining the refusal of Turkish ministers to enter Holland with Ankara's threats to impose sanctions. “There is no way we can conduct business under conditions of this kind of blackmail,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

However, the refusal of the Dutch authorities did not prevent the Minister of Family Affairs and Social Policy of Turkey, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaye, from arriving in Rotterdam from neighboring Germany on Saturday evening. Kaya intended to speak to residents of the Netherlands with dual Turkish-Dutch citizenship to encourage their support in the referendum on amendments to the Turkish constitution. Local police escorted the minister and expelled him from the country back to Germany, declaring Kaya.

The detention of the Turkish minister and the cancellation of her speech provoked the Turkish community in Rotterdam into riots and clashes with the police, who had to normalize the situation.

Earlier, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in the same harsh manner about what happened, calling the actions of the Dutch authorities “remnants of Nazism.”

Brussels stopped paying for Turkey's European integration

It is significant that, against the backdrop of a diplomatic scandal, the European Union itself decided to reduce funding for projects aimed at Turkey’s European integration. European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn spoke about this today. He said that programs “where there was no corresponding progress” were suspended. As an example, he cited measures to “construct rule of law", reports TASS with reference to DPA.

According to the European Commissioner, in 2014–2020 it was planned to allocate 4.45 billion euros to Turkey, but only 167.3 million euros were paid; the support mainly concerned the development of civil society, the education system and science.

According to Khan, the EU “made it clear” to Ankara that “the negative development of events, which began with the coup attempt, is incompatible with the standards” of the European Union. Khan also appreciated Erdogan’s statement comparing the Dutch authorities with the Nazis, saying that he considers such comparisons “unacceptable and absurd.”

At the same time, yesterday Ankara itself threatened the EU if the European Union refuses to liberalize the visa regime for Turkish citizens.

Türkiye contributes to the collapse of the European Union

Political scientist, president of the Institute of the Middle East Evgeny Satanovsky, talking with the newspaper VZGLYAD about the diplomatic scandal that broke out between Turkey and the Netherlands, noted that it is premature to make any forecasts now. “Ankara itself has not been planning to “integrate into Europe” for a long time. And, in fact, The Hague and Brussels are still different cities,” he emphasized.

Another thing is that, according to Satanovsky, Holland is generally tired of immigrants from the Middle East, and now the Turkish diaspora has come under attack. “Turks living in the Netherlands were simply asked to pack their bags and get out. At the same time, one should not underestimate the Dutch; they, of course, are known for cheese, herring and the legalization of soft drugs, but, in principle, they can cope with any diaspora. After a number of high-profile crimes committed by migrants, the degree of irritation in the Netherlands has increased significantly,” the expert believes.

At the same time, the political scientist noted that Turkey is now strengthening the trends towards the collapse of the European Union and the revival of national states with any retaliatory measures. “Ankara, of course, can blackmail The Hague with new flows of refugees, but the Dutch themselves will not accept them, and they do not have direct borders with Turkey. These are absolutely not sentimental people, and it is unlikely that the Turks will be able to somehow put pressure on them,” Satanovsky believes.

Turkologist Alexander Sotnichenko, in turn, recalled that currently in Turkey itself there is active preparation to a referendum on changes to the constitution. “There have already been many political scandals around this idea. For Erdogan’s supporters, it is now profitable to play on the conflict between Turkey and the EU,” the expert told the VZGLYAD newspaper.

According to Sotnichenko, now Erdogan has an opportunity on the eve of the referendum new opportunity portray a kind of fighter against the West and Europe. “That’s why this scandal was inflated, and the scandal itself is not worth a damn,” he believes.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the Netherlands will be held accountable for its decision to deny entry to Turkish ministers. At the same time, he emphasized that Ankara’s response will be tenfold.

“Whatever the Netherlands does, Turkey will do ten times more. We have nothing to fear. The actions of Dutch politicians are inhumane,” the Foreign Minister warned, emphasizing that the decision of the Dutch authorities to deny entry to the Turkish Foreign Minister is unacceptable.

The head of the foreign policy department noted that it is shameful for Europe that the Dutch authorities did not allow Minister of Family Affairs and Social Policy Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya into the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam. “And Ankara will remind Europe of this shame every time,” Cavusoglu concluded.

In turn, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also condemned the actions of the Dutch authorities who did not allow Fatma Betul Sayyan Kaya to enter the territory of the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam. “We strongly protest against the actions of the Dutch authorities. Ankara’s retaliatory measures will be extremely tough. Pressure on Turkey and the minister, who has diplomatic immunity, is unacceptable,” the head of government emphasized.

He also pointed out that the minister was in Europe to tell the Turks in this country about the constitutional amendments submitted to the referendum on April 16 in Turkey. According to him, the events in Rotterdam are “a big diplomatic scandal.”

Yildirim noted that despite Ankara’s diplomatic efforts, it was not possible to resolve the issue of organizing a meeting between the Turkish minister and his compatriots in Rotterdam. “Friends from European countries, who at every opportunity like to talk about democracy and freedom of speech, in the end they themselves showed disrespect for human rights,” the prime minister concluded.

Let us recall that the day before, the Dutch authorities prohibited the landing of a plane carrying the Turkish Foreign Minister, who was flying to a rally in Rotterdam. In this regard, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has already called the charge d'affaires of the Netherlands to explain what is happening. Çavuşoğlu was originally scheduled to take part in a rally planned for today in Rotterdam to agitate Dutch-Turkish citizens in support of amendments to the Turkish Constitution in the upcoming referendum. Three days ago, the rally was officially canceled due to the revocation of permission for the event, and the day before the Rotterdam mayor's office announced that Çavuşoğlu was prohibited from participating in the rally, even if it took place.

On Saturday, March 11, the Turkish minister decided to fly to Rotterdam anyway, promising to impose sanctions against the Netherlands if he was not allowed into the country. The effect of the statement was the opposite: the Dutch government did not allow the ministerial plane to land on the country's territory "due to a threat to public order and security."

On the same evening in Rotterdam, Turkish Minister of Family Affairs and Social Policy Fatma Betül Sayyan Kaya, who arrived there by car from Germany, was detained by the police in Rotterdam. Initially, Kaya intended to come to the consulate, where the participants of the canceled rally were waiting for her, but the Rotterdam mayor’s office ordered to block all roads leading to the Turkish diplomatic mission.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke on this issue, explaining that Amsterdam does not want appeals from Turkish ministers on its territory. “Turkish ministers are not prohibited from being in the Netherlands. The question is that we do not want them to speak to the Turkish community,” TASS quoted him as saying.

This also applies to Fatma Betul Sayyan Kaya, who was detained by the police. "It appears that the minister intends to make a speech. We believe that she should not do so today. We are aware of what is happening and are doing everything possible to resolve the situation. That is all I can say in this moment", said Mark Rutte.

Dutch authorities later declared Kaya an undesirable alien and expelled her from the country. Law enforcement officers escorted her to the German border, after which the minister flew to Istanbul from Cologne, Germany. Kaya boarded a private jet allocated to Turkey's Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıc, who was attending a number of events in Germany.

At the same time, she condemned the decision of the Dutch authorities to expel her from the country. “Trampling on all democratic and universal values, I am being sent to Germany through the Dutch city of Nijmegen. I condemn this decision on behalf of all citizens of Turkey. The world community must react in response to this fascist action,” she said, adding that such an attitude is against women - Minister is categorically unacceptable.

The Turkish-Dutch diplomatic conflict is a reflection of the contradictions that have accumulated between Ankara and the EU for many months, the expert believes . In his opinion, Europe wants to show the whole world that liberal values ​​are above all and it is ready to defend them even to its own detriment.

Relations between Turkey and the EU became extremely strained after the Dutch authorities banned the plane of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu from landing at Rotterdam airport, and then deported another minister, Fatma Betül Say Kaya, from the country. Both politicians intended to speak to representatives of the Turkish diaspora and urge them to support amendments to the Turkish constitution at the referendum on April 16, providing for a transition to a presidential form of government.

Rising tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands are a reflection of the contradictions that have been building up between Ankara and the EU for many months, Alexander Rahr, scientific director of the German-Russian Forum, said in an interview. “The EU’s break with Turkey should be seen as Europe’s desire to save its liberal model at all costs – that’s why there is such a harsh reaction,” he noted. “The conflict with the Turks actually began a year ago, when some European parliaments recognized the Armenian genocide and explained to the Turks that the door to the EU was closed to them.”

In addition, European countries reacted extremely negatively to plans to change the Turkish constitution and stated that they would not allow a campaign to change it to be waged on their territory. “The Europeans said: this illiberal constitution contradicts our democratic values, we do not want to support it and will not,” Rahr emphasized.

A new round of tension began after German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for the newspaper Die Welt, was arrested in Turkey on February 14. The conflict began to escalate, and it was no longer possible to stop it, the expert believes.

“Germany began to demand the release of the German-Turkish journalist, and his stay in custody was extended for another three months. The German government was not used to being treated this way. The Germans believe that they have influence throughout the world and that if they stomp their feet and say “don’t touch the journalist”, and they take new punitive measures against him, this could anger even Madam Chancellor herself. Therefore, Germany took a very tough reaction,” the expert emphasized.

The escapades of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said in early March that Germany’s policy towards Ankara was comparable to the Nazi regime, also added fuel to the fire. “Germany has already lost its way to democracy, its current practices have nothing to do with democracy and are even comparable to the Nazi regime,” he said. Erdogan called Deniz Yucel a “German spy” and a “terrorist collaborator.”

“Today it is important for Europe to show the whole world that liberal European values ​​are most important and it is ready to defend them even to its own detriment,” Rahr believes. Until recently, the EU was ready to compromise with Turkey, understanding that cooperation with it would prevent the migration crisis from worsening, but now Europe is more determined.

The worsening relations between Europe and Turkey will be used by politicians on both sides, Rahr notes. “There is such a double play here. “Many politicians and parties need this conflict to score points,” says the expert. – Erdogan will only benefit from this dispute. Those voters he needed were waiting for such a conflict with Europe to show that Turkey should be strong and not at Europe's beck and call. But the same can be said about Europe. Merkel is using the whole story in the election campaign to show that she defends liberal values. Holland and other countries are doing the same.”

Rahr emphasized that Turkish communities in European countries are split into three parts: Erdogan’s supporters, for whom he is a symbol of the revival of the Turkish nation, his opponents, who believe that democracy needs to be saved in Turkey, and the Kurds, “who are ready to fight in Europe for a free Kurdistan.” Serious friction between them does not add stability to the situation in European countries during the pre-election period, the expert notes.

The Turkish community is one of the largest in the countries Western Europe, Rahr recalled, and attempts to influence her from the outside will have a powerful resonance. "IN recent months, until yesterday, if we take the statement of the outgoing German president, ruling class in Europe constantly accuses Russia of interfering in election campaigns in the West and wanting to destabilize the situation in Europe. Let’s see how the actions of Ankara, which actually destabilizes the entire Turkish community not only in Germany, but also in Holland and other countries, will be perceived,” Rahr said.

In a recent interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, German President Joachim Gauck, whose term ends on March 18, warned of the possibility of foreign interference in the German election campaign, saying that Russia was engaged in creating negative attitudes towards migrants among Russian-speaking residents of Germany.