Tensions between Turkey and Western Europe simmered on Monday, with Turkey’s foreign ministry formally protesting the treatment of a Turkish minister who was escorted out of the Netherlands over the weekend and what Turkey called a “disproportionate” use of force against demonstrators at a protest afterward.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in on the Netherlands’ side, Nato’s chief called for alliance members to respect each other, and the EU urged Turkey to calm down.
The flap is over the Netherlands’ refusal to allow Turkish officials to campaign there to drum up support among Turks who are eligible to vote in an April 16 referendum that would expand the powers of the Turkish President.
The surge in tensions spread online, with a handful of Dutch websites vandalised with pro-Turkish imagery and slogans.
