Turkish minister complains of ‘ugly treatment’ by Dutch

0
1685

Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya flew back to Istanbul on Sunday after being expelled from the Netherlands and escorted back to Germany, describing the Dutch treatment as “ugly.”

“We were subjected to rude and tough treatment… Treating a female minister this way is very ugly,” Kaya told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. “As a minister holding a diplomatic passport, I don’t have to get permission to come together with our citizens at our consulate, which is considered Turkish territory,” said Kaya.

Kaya tried to enter the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday to address Turkish émigrés to drum up support for next month’s referendum to dramatically expand President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

Police prevented her from entering the compound, triggering hundreds of Turkish flag waving protestors to gather demanding to see her. Twelve people were arrested for public order offenses as protestors threw bottles and rocks at police, who used batons, dogs and water cannon to put down the riot.

The Dutch government said it had warned the Turkish government that the family minister would not be allowed into the consulate.

this diplomatic row has spilled onto the streets of Rotterdam and Istanbul after Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya was expelled from the Netherlands. Turkey’s prime minister threatened “strong countermeasures.”

Comments

comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.