Protests in Turkey against Netherlands over diplomatic crisis

ADIYAMAN

AA photo

Protests have been carried out by different groups in Turkey over the past two days against the Netherlands, amid escalating row between the two countries after a Turkish minister was barred from speaking at an event in Rotterdam. 

A group in the capital Ankara placed a black wreath in front of the Dutch embassy building, while a group in the Black Sea province of Samsun set a Dutch flag on fire. 

Dozens of squares in Turkish provinces have hosted representatives from non-governmental organizations for press releases. 

Members of the International Peace and Friendship Association were among many others gathered in front of the Dutch embassy on March 12 to protest the expulsion of Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya from the country. 

The embassy has witnessed two-day long protests as small groups have marched through streets on March 12 and 13, while chanting against the European country. Some groups approaching the embassy building, situated on “The Netherlands Street,” demanded the name should be changed, erecting a Turkish flag on the street sign. 

A group gathered in Samsun set a Dutch flag on fire after singing the Turkish national anthem.  

Complaint filed against Dutch King

A shopkeeper in the southeastern province of Adıyaman has filed a complaint against the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander, Prime Minister Mart Rutte, Dutch interior and foreign ministers, and Rotterdam’s mayor. 

Mehmet Öztürk filed a criminal complaint against Dutch authorities to a courthouse in the province’s Kahta district over their treatment of Turkish ministers on March 13. 

Marches and gatherings in 7 different cities 

Various non-governmental organizations from the provinces of Gaziantep, Batman, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Sakarya, Kahramanmaraş and Bitlis have organized small gatherings to deliver public statements to express their fury at the Netherlands. 

Members of the Physically Impaired Individuals’ Association in the southeastern province of Gaziantep have gathered in a park, holding placards saying “Down with the Netherlands,” and “Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya is not alone.”

In Batman, the “Yes platform” gathered 88 different non-governmental organizations, while in Mardin it gathered 57 associations to deliver public statements. 

Meanwhile, some 100 people have gathered in the northwestern province of Sakarya also to protest the Dutch government.