Turkish foreign minister attends rally in France
Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, addressed hundreds at a rally in the north-eastern French city of Metz this Sunday. The event comes one day after the minister was barred entry from the Netherlands amid a tense diplomatic row.
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Cavusoglu attended the Metz rally, which was organised by a local Turkish group, to campaign for his government’s upcoming referendum on constitutional reforms that would expand the powers of the presidency in Turkey. The country’s officials have planned to visit European countries with sizeable Turkish populations to promote their “yes” campaign.
The Turkish minister said that "the Netherlands is the capital of fascism" at the French rally, which comes one day after the Dutch government refused to allow him to land at Rotterdam airport. The move was in objection to the minister’s referendum campaign there.
Unlike their Dutch counterparts, French officials have given Cavusoglu’s rally the green light, as they found it posed no threat to public security.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thanked France for allowing Sunday’s gathering. “I thank France. France was not deceived by such games,” he said.
Some French politicians have criticised their government’s decision, such as conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Pierre Lellouche, who called it “incomprehensible”.
“It is unacceptable that foreign governments, with no regard for democracy in their own country, are able to shamelessly take advantage of our democratic principles so as to campaign in our country,” he said on Sunday.
Presidential candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan has also accused the French government of “acting dishonourably”.
French Defence Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault justified the government's decision in a statement, in which he said that the event "poses no possibility of interference in French political life."
However, he recognised the "current tension between Turkey and several member states of the European Union", and warned Ankara to "avoid excesses and provocations".
Erdogan to Netherlands: ‘You will pay the price’
The Dutch decision to ban Cavusoglu from entering the country was strongly condemned by Erdogan, who accused the Dutch of acting like Nazis.
“They are vestiges of Nazis, they are fascists,” he said at a rally in Istanbul on Saturday. “Nazism is alive in the West.
“Ban our minister from flying however much you like, but from now on let’s see how your flights will land in Turkey,” he added.
Erdogan had similarly accused Germany of “Nazi practices” when it cancelled campaign events that were to take place there the previous week. German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded that Erdogan’s comments were “depressing” and “so out of place as to be unworthy of serious comment”.
Both the Netherlands and Germany had cited logistical reasons for cancelling the respective rallies, claims that were contested by Turkish officials.
Hundreds of protestors contested the Dutch ban outside of the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday. When police, some on horseback, tried to disperse the crowd with water cannons and dogs, protestors responded by throwing rocks.
Tension between Turkey and European leaders has intensified as Turkish officials seek to hold rallies abroad in anticipation of April’s constitutional referendum that would grant broader powers to President Erdogan.
Germany is home to some 1.4 million Turkish people eligible to vote in Turkey, while the Turkish population in the Netherlands is roughly 400,000.
The Turkish government argues that the constitutional changes would result bring more political stability to the country, while opponents say the move would lead to one-man rule.
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