The Netherlands barred Turkey’s Foreign Minister from flying to Rotterdam on Saturday and President Tayyip Erdogan responded by calling his NATO partner a “Nazi remnant” as a row over Ankara campaigning among émigré Turkish voters intensified.
Rotterdam had banned Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from attending a Turkish rally in support of Mr. Erdogan’s drive for sweeping new powers, to be put to a referendum next month. But Mr. Cavusoglu said on Saturday morning he would fly to the city anyway and accused the Dutch of treating Turkish citizens in the country like “hostages”.
Mr. Cavusoglu had threatened harsh economic and political sanctions if the Dutch refused him entry, a threat that proved decisive for the Netherlands government.
It cited public order and security concerns in withdrawing landing rights for Mr. Cavusoglu’s flight. But it said the sanctions threat made the search for a reasonable solution impossible.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that while the Netherlands and Turkey could search for “an acceptable solution”, Turkey was not respecting the rules relating to public gatherings.
“[These] gatherings may not contribute to tensions in our society and everyone who wants to hold a gathering is obliged to follow instructions of those in authority so that public order and safety can be guaranteed,” Mr. Rutte added. Four planned Turkish rallies in Austria and one in Switzerland have also been cancelled in the dispute.
