Turkey's Erdogan says Netherlands acting like a "banana republic"

[webfact]

Turkey's Erdogan says Netherlands acting like a "banana republic"

By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Thomas Escrit

REUTERS

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan receives a present during a ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, March 11, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

 

ANKARA/ROTTERDAM (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday the Netherlands was acting like a "banana republic" and should face sanctions for barring Turkish ministers from speaking in Rotterdam, fuelling a row over Ankara's political campaigning abroad.

 

Erdogan is looking to the large number of Turks living in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, to help secure victory next month in a referendum that would give the presidency sweeping new powers.

 

In a speech in France, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the Netherlands as the "capital of fascism" as it joined other European countries in stopping Turkish politicians holding rallies, due to fears that tensions in Turkey might spill over into their expatriate communities.

 

The Dutch government barred Cavusoglu from flying to Rotterdam on Saturday and later stopped Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate there, before escorting her out of the country to Germany.

 

Dutch police used dogs and water cannon on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags outside the consulate in Rotterdam. Some threw bottles and stones and several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a Reuters witness said. Mounted police officers charged the crowd.

 

The Dutch government - set to lose about half its seats in elections this week, according to polls, as the anti-Islam party of Geert Wilders makes strong gains - said the visits were undesirable and it would not cooperate in their campaigning.

 

"I call on all international organisations in Europe and elsewhere to impose sanctions on the Netherlands," Erdogan said, after his prime minister earlier said Turkey would retaliate in the "harshest ways", without specifying how.

 

"Has Europe said anything? No. Why? Because they don't bite each other. The Netherlands are acting like a banana republic," Erdogan said in a speech in Kocaeli province, near Istanbul.

 

"NAZISM WIDESPREAD IN WEST"

 

A day earlier, Erdogan described the Netherlands as "Nazi remnants" and returned to the theme on Sunday by saying "Nazism is still widespread in the West" in what Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said were inflammatory remarks.

 

    "We ended up in a totally unprecedented situation in which a NATO ally...with whom we have historic ties, strong trade relations, is acting in a totally unacceptable, irresponsible manner," Rutter told reporters.

 

Rather than the Netherlands apologising for refusing the Turkish ministers entry, Turkey's president should apologize for comparing the Netherlands to fascists and Nazis, he said.

 

The row risked spreading on Sunday as Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen proposed postponing a planned visit by Yildirim this month due to the dispute.

 

The French foreign ministry urged calm and said there had been no reason to prohibit a meeting in France between Cavusoglu and a local Turkish association.

 

Supporting Rutte's decision to ban the visits, the Dutch government said there was a risk of Turkish political divisions flowing over into its own Turkish minority, which has both pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.

 

DUTCH ELECTION

 

The diplomatic row comes in the run-up to next week's Dutch election in which the mainstream parties are under strong pressure from Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV).

 

Experts said it was too early to tell how events in Rotterdam might affect the election. "If there is any impact, however, it is likely that Geert Wilders and his PVV Party will profit most," said Leiden University professor of electoral research Joop van Holsteijn.

 

After Turkey's family minister was escorted into Germany, Wilders tweeted: "go away and never come back".

 

The Dutch government cited public order and security worries in withdrawing landing rights for Cavusoglu's flight and Turkey fired back saying the Dutch ambassador to Ankara should not return from leave "for some time".

 

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Dutch embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul. Police sealed off both sites.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will do all she can to prevent Turkey's domestic tensions spreading onto German territory. Austria and Switzerland have also cancelled Turkish rallies due to the escalating dispute.

 

European Parliament Vice President Alexander Graff Lambsdorff demanded a ban on Turkish ministers campaigning in the EU.

 

"The European Union should agree on a line that Turkish ministers are not allowed to campaign in the EU," he said.

 

"The Dutch are showing how it is done, the German government pussyfoots around ... in that way Turkey can try to play one country off the other," he told Die Welt newspaper.

 

(Additional reporting by Yesim Dikmen in Istanbul, Orhan Coskun and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Teis Jensen in Copenhagen, Madeline Chambers in Berlin, Maya Nikolaeva and Marine Pennetier in Paris,; Writing by Daren Butler and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-13

[ezzra]

 

This little man and a sultan waanabe is living in a glass house and throwing stones at others branding them Nazis, did he forget the genocide and annihilations that the ottoman empire has inflicted on the Arminian nation killing nearly 2 millions of them early in the 20th century ? who's the Nazi now, Mr. Erdogan ?....

[harryviking]

this guy is  a lunatic and will destroy turkey completely. what a <deleted>!

[colinneil]

Is this fake news, or is the man as crazy, deluded, brain dead as the media are saying.

[jollyhangmon]

11 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Is this fake news, or is the man as crazy, deluded, brain dead as the media are saying.

Well, a goat-fornicator, nothing else to expect there.

Literally just heard in the news tourist bookings out of EU down another 45% in 2017 so far after over 50% minus already last year.

Good, hit 'em where it hurts.

 

For sure he's a disgusting sight this early in the morning ... Yuck!

 

edit: Erdogan + Duterte = Tourette-syndrome ...?!

Edited March 13, 2017 by jollyhangmon

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

the Netherlands was acting like a "banana republic"

No, more of a hashish republic.

Erdogan could use some to mellow-yellow out his stress.

[docshock13]

1 hour ago, harryviking said:

this guy is  a lunatic and will destroy turkey completely. what a <deleted>!

Turkey was a fantastic country that I enjoyed visiting as often as I could. Not now though. 

This guy needs to go. 

[klauskunkel]

Quote

Erdogan is looking to the large number of Turks living in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands

Ask yourself this, Sultan Bey: Why are there large numbers of Turks (millions) living in Europe since over 50 years? Don't they like it in Turkey?

[348GTS]

Erdogan is a maniac and Europe would be better off severing their ties with his government completely. Let's see now, he murders and imprisons his opponents and people in the media who criticize him, he shot down a Russian plane over Syrian airspace, he supports ISIS by buying their oil and continuing to attack the Kurds in Syria who are allied with the US fighting ISIS. The list goes on. As is the usual Muslim agenda, he makes unreasonable demands and then cries 'fascist' and 'nazi' when he doesn't get his way. And then the threats. Why is Turkey even in NATO? And who in the EU is still pro Turkey joining the EU?? I think it's time people in Europe need to wake up and realise Turkey are not our ally.

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Is this fake news, or is the man as crazy, deluded, brain dead as the media are saying.

Turkish Donald Trump

[Destiny1990]

Can he please take back home the million of turks living on well fare and child supports in European Countries Thank u!!

Edited March 13, 2017 by Destiny1990

[Scott]

Inflammatory post removed. 

 

[chuang]

Hope Geert Wilders win the election...

[fvw53]

21 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Can he please take back home the million of turks living on well fare and child supports in European Countries Thank u!!

Good question...but most of them have double nationality

[Destiny1990]

10 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

Good question...but most of them have double nationality

Yes so they can go back home forever by using their Turkey passports and they can cheer and applaud Erdogan in their home country with Turkeys flags Each day of the year

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, harryviking said:

this guy is  a lunatic and will destroy turkey completely. what a <deleted>!

Sad thing is that he is very popular among the Turkish  population that seem to want to become a fundamentalist state. 

[darksidedog]

I believe this is the pot accusing the kettle of being black.

In this case though, the kettle is clean and shiny, while the accusing pot is closer in actions, words and deeds to Pol Pot.

[sandrabbit]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sad thing is that he is very popular among the Turkish  population that seem to want to become a fundamentalist state. 

I don't think he is that popular, opposition criticism of him is heavily suppressed now and most Turks still seem to want a secular state. It's similar to Iran in that arranged demonstrations seem to make the government a lot more popular than it actually is.

[thaibeachlovers]

12 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

I don't think he is that popular, opposition criticism of him is heavily suppressed now and most Turks still seem to want a secular state. It's similar to Iran in that arranged demonstrations seem to make the government a lot more popular than it actually is.

Far as I know, he has always been popular in the countryside, which is populated by the more fundamentalist people. It's true that the city folk want a secular state, but I'm assuming they are in a minority overall.

Attaturk must be spinning in his grave to see what is happening now.

[fruitman]

3 hours ago, docshock13 said:

Turkey was a fantastic country that I enjoyed visiting as often as I could. Not now though. 

This guy needs to go. 

This is good news for Thailand. The Dutch won't go to Turkye anymore on holiday and might opt for Thailand.

 

I'm waiting for the TAT to tell us how many billions of baht they can make out of this.

[KenKadz]

So if Holland and Germany sends all the Turkish immigrants in their countries back to Turkey where they can legally hold their rallies would this solve Erdogan's problem?

[Destiny1990]

5 minutes ago, KenKadz said:

So if Holland and Germany sends all the Turkish immigrants in their countries back to Turkey where they can legally hold their rallies would this solve Erdogan's problem?

I don't know but it certainly solves lot of the problems for Germany and the Netherlands.

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Turkish Donald Trump

Thats really hitting below the belt. 

[digger70]

So what is wrong with standing up for you're country,,The Netherlands have already their share of so called immigrants and Islam population,For sure they don't want any rally's and violence from them if they allowed Turkish Islam ministers speaking(stirring trouble) in Dutch Cities.Maybe they have seen the Light and Fight the flow of Islam trouble.Looks like DT is getting some support in other Countries.Not before Time.    

[Sydebolle]

Erdogan's tactic is a smoke screen but I have not found out, what exactly he tries to hide behind the smoke screens of Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands etc. 

No leader gets voted by overseas voters and specially a tyrant like Erdogan who knows how to "handle" the electorate in case they are not voting for him.

My question to the clowns running the EU in Brussels would be, if they - in all earnest -still consider Turkey's membership in the EU?

Maybe it is time to send in the Balkan boys to finish the job; Erdogan could chose between an Albania or Moldavian bullet then .......

Take him off the air all over Europe; no need to waste space in newspapers and air time on TV and radio - seriously ! 

[stevenl]

So if Holland and Germany sends all the Turkish immigrants in their countries back to Turkey where they can legally hold their rallies would this solve Erdogan's problem?

They are not Turkish immigrants, but dual passport holders due to Turkey's laws.

sent using Tapatalk

[cncltd1973]

14 hours ago, 348GTS said:

Erdogan is a maniac and Europe would be better off severing their ties with his government completely. Let's see now, he murders and imprisons his opponents and people in the media who criticize him, he shot down a Russian plane over Syrian airspace, he supports ISIS by buying their oil and continuing to attack the Kurds in Syria who are allied with the US fighting ISIS. The list goes on. As is the usual Muslim agenda, he makes unreasonable demands and then cries 'fascist' and 'nazi' when he doesn't get his way. And then the threats. Why is Turkey even in NATO? And who in the EU is still pro Turkey joining the EU?? I think it's time people in Europe need to wake up and realise Turkey are not our ally.

They are probably a necessary 'evil' because of their border with Syria and the need to have a de-escalation buffer between Euro and the craziness spilling over from middle east. Turkey is the EU's token example for other muslim countries to emulate. Otherwise, not much benefit for the EU there

[soalbundy]

On 3/13/2017 at 1:49 PM, KenKadz said:

So if Holland and Germany sends all the Turkish immigrants in their countries back to Turkey where they can legally hold their rallies would this solve Erdogan's problem?

No but it would certainly destroy the German industry.