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Showing posts with label Turkish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkish. Show all posts

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Tensions rising between Turkish, European leaders before elections

(CNN)A diplomatic feud between Turkey and the Netherlands continued to escalate Sunday, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing its NATO ally of "sacrificing Turkish-Dutch relations" and Denmark stepping into the fray.
The dispute erupted on Saturday after the Netherlands barred a plane carrying Turkey's foreign minister from landing in the country. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had planned to address Turkish expatriates in support of an upcoming referendum that would expand Erdogan's powers.
    The Netherlands said it canceled the flight because of concerns about public order at the gathering. But Erdogan took it as a slight, accusing the Dutch of Islamophobia and comparing them to Nazis.
    A similar spat between Erdogan and Germany happened a week ago.
    Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks during a rally in Istanbul on Sunday.
    Driving the disputes is Turkey's referendum next month that would change its government structure. Turkish officials want to rally supporters among expatriates in Europe, but some countries have resisted.
    This month, Germany canceled Turkish rallies there. Erdogan accused the government of Nazism, leading to a sharp rebuke from Chancellor Angela Merkel.
    With the Netherlands heading for a nationwide vote Wednesday -- with concerns about Muslim immigration a central issue.
    "I thought Nazism was over but I was wrong," Erdogan said at the International Goodness Awards ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday.
    "What we saw in the last couple of days in Germany and Netherlands are the reflections of Islamophobia."

    Denmark postpones meeting with Turkey

    Later Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen postponed a discussed visit by his Turkish counterpart.
    "Under normal circumstances it would be a pleasure for me to greet Prime Minister (Binali) Yildirim in Copenhagen," Rasmussen said. "But with the current rhetorical attacks by Turkey against the Netherlands, a new meeting cannot be seen isolated from that."
    The Danish government is observing developments in Turkey "with great concern as democratic principles are under considerable pressure," he said.
    "A meeting right now would be interpreted as if Denmark is viewing developments in Turkey more mildly, which is not at all the case."
    The prime minister's office said Danish representatives and Turkish officials had been discussing the possible meeting for several weeks. It would have been scheduled for later this month in Denmark.

    Protests in the Netherlands and Turkey

    On Saturday, protests broke out in Rotterdam and in the major Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul, after the Netherlands blocked Cavusoglu's flight.
    Protesters in Rotterdam took to the streets Saturday.
    Erdogan reacted angrily. "They are timid and cowards," he said. "They are Nazi remnants and fascists."

    'We will respond in the heaviest way'

    Turkey's April 16 referendum vote on its constitution would turn Turkey's parliamentary system into a presidential one, effectively consolidating the power of three legislative bodies into one executive branch under Erdogan.
    Some 1.5 million Turkish nationals living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu.
    In the Netherlands, far-right politician Geert Wilders praised the decision to bar the Turkish minister and credited his own party for the decision.

    Saturday, March 11, 2017

    Netherlands cancels Turkish foreign minister’s visit in spiraling feud between Europe and Turkey

     The Dutch government on Saturday prevented Turkey’s foreign minister from visiting the Netherlands to address Turkish voters there, in a breach of diplomatic protocol that reflected sharply worsening tensions between Turkey and Europe.
    The Dutch government said in a statement it had decided to withdraw landing rights for the foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, because of the “risks to public order and security” that a visit by him would pose. Earlier Saturday, Cavusoglu had warned that Turkey would impose “sanctions” on the Netherlands if his flight was canceled, according to local Turkish media.
    Reacting later in the day to the cancellation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the Dutch “Nazi remnants” and “fascists” and suggested that Dutch diplomats would be prevented from traveling to Turkey.   
    The intense diplomatic arguments highlighted the extraordinary heat generated by an upcoming referendum in Turkey on a number of constitutional amendments that could transform its system of government and vastly expand Erdogan’s powers. In the run-up to the referendum, set for April 16, several European nations, including the Netherlands and Germany, have canceled appearances by Turkish ministers supporting Erdogan as the ministers try to sway Turkish voters in the diaspora. 
    The Turkish campaign is coinciding with a fraught election season in Europe that has seen a surge in popularity for right-wing, anti-immigration candidates. Nationalist or anti-Muslim politicians such as Geert Wilders in the Netherlands have called for Turkish politicians to be barred from campaigning in their countries — adding to the pressure on European leaders to accommodate such sentiments. 
    Wilders, whose Freedom Party is expected to be a leading vote-getter in the Dutch election set for Wednesday, appeared to relish the spat Saturday between his government and Turkey’s. On Twitter, he demanded the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador and the recall of the Dutch ambassador in Ankara.
    “Oh yes,” he added in another tweet. “I say it to all Turks in the Netherlands who agree with Erdogan: GO back to Turkey and NEVER come back.”
    The breach in relations with the Netherlands comes as Turkey and Germany are engaged in a similarly bitter dispute that could threaten a European Union deal with Ankara to stem the flow of migrants — a critical issue in Germany, where more than 1 million asylum seekers have arrived over the past two years.
    As the arguments grow more bad-tempered, Erdogan could stand to benefit from a perception that European countries have been trying to interfere in Turkey’s election. On Saturday, as news of the foreign minister’s canceled visit reached Turkey, a hashtag in Turkish caught fire: “NazipracticeinHolland.”
    Amar Nadhir in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.