Turkey's diplomatic relations with Europe take a nosedive
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fast ending the European dream following a weekend of serious disputes with the Dutch government over a pro-referendum rally in Rotterdam by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
If Erich Maria Remarque, known for his masterpiece World War I novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” were following developments in Turkey today, he would, perhaps, be inspired to write a piece titled “All Trouble on the Western Front.” Turkey’s age-old European vocation is jeopardized and undermined. The tension between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his faithful in Germany spilled over to the Netherlands and unprecedented developments occurred. Turkey’s relations with the European Union may have taken a fatal blow this month.
This time it was Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's turn to be forbidden from holding a rally, in the Dutch town of Rotterdam. He was stubborn and took off anyway on March 11, but his plane did not get permission to land on Dutch soil. Erdogan was furious and hit back at Dutch officials, charging that they were “Nazi remnants and fascists”; he had accused Germany a few days earlier of "continuing with Nazi practices."
