ANKARA
Russian politicians Monday joined an international chorus of condemnation after the Netherlands barred Turkish government ministers from meeting Turks in Rotterdam.
"The Netherlands violated all the rules of diplomacy, alliance and kindness," Sergei Ordzhonikidze, former head of the UN Office in Geneva, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
He added: "Is Turkey not an NATO ally? Can an ally be treated like this?"
The confrontation between Turkey and some EU countries reached a boiling point Saturday when Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was refused permission to land in the Netherlands and Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya was deported from the country.
Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal Russian politician, said that with its attitude, the Netherlands had "damaged" the security and stability of the entire EU region.
"If a European minister had faced with the same situation in Russia or Turkey, I can’t imagine what the Western media would say," Nadezhdin told Anadolu Agency.
Early Monday, Egypt, Iraq, Mauritania and Tunisia also voiced concern over the actions by the Netherlands.
Adnan Mansar, secretary-general of Tunisia’s Harak Tounes al-Irada party, called the Dutch denial of a flight permit for Cavusoglu “provocative” and “aggressive”.
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour blasted the Dutch action as “unacceptable”.
Iraq’s former Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi wrote on Twitter that the Turkish government’s move to campaign for proposed constitutional changes was democratic and accused European nations of acting in a “totalitarian” manner.
Veled Eddi, representative of a Mauritian umbrella group, the National Forum for Democracy and Unity, called the action a “strange blockade”.
Dogs and batons
The ministers were due to meet with the Turkish community ahead of an April 16 referendum that will decide constitutional reforms.
The Dutch government said it canceled Cavusoglu's flight permit due to security and public safety concerns.
Outside the consulate in Rotterdam, police used dogs, batons, and water cannons to disperse a peaceful crowd that gathered in support of Kaya. She was later forced to leave the consulate area with a police escort.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland said Sunday that tensions between Turkey and several European countries are damaging diplomacy and democracy.
"We cannot allow it to escalate any further," Jagland said, adding that all Turkish citizens should have ample opportunity to be informed about the referendum campaign.
"All public meetings and political campaigns held in Council of Europe member states should be conducted in accordance with national legislation and the European Convention on Human Rights," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said it “is essential to avoid further escalation and find ways to calm down the situation.”
In a statement, they said, “Decisions with regard to the holding of meetings and rallies in Member States are a matter for the Member State concerned, in accordance with the applicable provisions of international and national law.”
They added, “The European Union calls on Turkey to refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk further exacerbating the situation. Matters of concern can only be resolved through open and direct communication channels.”
‘Very regrettable’
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault urged Dutch and Turkish authorities to reach an agreement. "Faced with the current tension between Turkey and several member states of the European Union, France calls for appeasement,” he said in a statement Sunday that also “calls on the Turkish authorities to avoid excesses and provocations.”
He also called Cavusoglu’s rally in the French city of Metz -- which, unlike the Netherlands, France did not hinder -- "is a matter of freedom of assembly”.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Haciyev said the Dutch treatment of Turkish ministers was biased.
"What has been done against the Turkish government officials, the hindrance of the meeting and demonstration freedom of Turks in the Netherlands, and the use of power against them is contradictory and prejudiced," he said.
The standoff between Turkey and the Netherlands should be sorted out “as fast as possible”, according to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
"I think this is very regrettable,” Johnson told ITV.
Yousuf Al-Koda, head of Sudan’s Islamic Wasat Party, said the Dutch move contradicted human rights and concepts of democracy "advocated by Europe".
Algerian lawmaker Muhammed al-Hadi Osmaniye said such racist, provocative attitudes only serve far-right groups in Europe. "The West does not want the spread of democracy in Muslim societies,” he said.
