ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said a Dutch ban on his foreign minister's visit was like Nazism, as tensions rocketed over rallies abroad to help Ankara gain backing for a key vote.
His comments came after The Hague said it would refuse Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plane permission to land for a rally to gather support for a referendum on boosting Erdogan's powers.
The Dutch decision to ban Cavusoglu from visiting and holding a rally in the port city of Rotterdam came after Germany and other European nations also blocked other campaign events.
Unlike in Germany, however, where a string of planned rallies were barred by local authorities, in the Netherlands it was the government that stepped in to block Cavusoglu's visit.
"They are the vestiges of the Nazis, they are fascists," Erdogan told an Istanbul rally Saturday, days after he angrily compared moves to block rallies in Germany to "Nazi practices".
"Ban our foreign minister from flying however much you like, but from now on let's see how your flights will land in Turkey," Erdogan said.
Turkey promised to avoid the flight ban and send another minister to Rotterdam "by land".
Cavusoglu was however expected to address a rally Sunday in the eastern French city of Metz, a local official said, adding that the visit had been cleared by the French foreign ministry.
"The prefecture has been charged with ensuring security... (and to ensure) there is no disruption to public order," Alain Carton told AFP.
A French diplomatic source said the go-ahead was in line with the principle of freedom to hold public gatherings.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.