'Nazi remnants, fascists'
The Netherlands barred Turkey's foreign minister from landing in Rotterdam yesterday in a row over Ankara's political campaigning among Turkish emigres, and President Tayyip Erdogan retaliated, branding his Nato partner a "Nazi remnant".
The extraordinary incident came hours after Mevlut Cavusoglu declared he would fly to Rotterdam despite being banned from a rally there to marshal support for sweeping new powers Erdogan seeks. Europe, he said, must be rid of its "boss-like attitude".
Cavusoglu, who was barred from a similar meeting in Hamburg last week but spoke instead from the Turkish consulate, accused the Dutch of treating the many Turkish citizens in the country like "hostages", cutting them off from Ankara.
Cavusoglu 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 Cavusoglu's flight. But it said the sanctions threat made the search for a reasonable solution impossible.
Four planned Turkish rallies in Austria and one in Switzerland have also been cancelled in the dispute.
"Listen Netherlands, you'll jump once, you'll jump twice, but my people will thwart your game," Erdogan said at a rally. "You can cancel our foreign minister's flight as much as you want, but let's see how your flights come to Turkey now.
"They don't know diplomacy or politics. They are Nazi remnants. They are fascists."
Dutch Prime Minister Rutte called his reference to Nazis and Fascists "a crazy remark of course".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country Erdogan compared last week with Nazi Germany, has said she will do everything possible to prevent any spillover of Turkish political tensions onto German soil.
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