NATO Calls on Turkey, the Netherlands to Defuse Tension
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Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg from Norway has called on Turkey and the Netherlands to defuse the escalating dispute.
"Robust debate is at the heart of our democracies but so is mutual respect. I would encourage all allies to show mutual respect, to be calm and have a measured approach. To contribute to deescalate the tensions, defuse tensions and deescalate the situation, it's important that we now focus on everything that unites us", Stoltenberg said.
Call from the EU
The European Union (EU) called on Turkey to avoid "excessive statements".
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn in a joint statement said:
"It is essential to avoid further escalation and find ways to calm down the situation. Matters of concern can only be resolved through open and direct communication channels.
"The European Commission calls on to refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk to further exacerbate the situation with the Netherlands and other EU member states".
What happened?
The campaign meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on March 11 in Rotterdam for the referendum on the Constitutional Amendment Draft on April 16 was cancelled.
Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Abutalip had announced that the decision to cancel the meeting was taken by the owner of the hall Park de Heerlijkheid where the meeting was to take place due to lack of fire security measures. Mayor Abutalip noted however "If the owner of the hall had not, I would have cancelled the meeting myself for public order and security reasons".
Çavuşoğlu in a TV program in CNN Türk called the Dutch "Nazis" following the remarks about Germany and if the Netherlands would revoke his landing rights, this would cause sanctions.
On March 11, the Netherlands revoked Minister Çavuşoğlu's landing rights.
Netherland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders said that Çavuşoğlu's call to the people from Turkey in the Netherlands for an assembly threatened "the public order and security".
While the revocation of Çavuşoğlu's landing rights sparked protests in Turkey and the Netherlands, Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan-Kaya who wanted to enter the Consulate of Turkey in Rotterdam where the protests were being staged was blocked and deported to Germany with police escort.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte said that he wished the tension to de-escelate but they would not apologize.
On March 15, General Elections will be held in the Netherlands. (TP/YY/DG)