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By fighting Netherlands, a fanatic Erdogan has put Dutch Turks at grave peril

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Shantanu Mukharji
Shantanu MukharjiMar 15, 2017 | 19:56

By fighting Netherlands, a fanatic Erdogan has put Dutch Turks at grave peril

Ever since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan survived the July 2016 coup attempt that threatened to usurp power from his government, he seems to have lost his mental equilibrium, techniques of diplomacy and pragmatic statecraft.

This is visible in ample measure in the insecure president's body language and rhetoric in the wake of a diplomatic row with the Netherlands, which has snowballed into a major crisis before the impending referendum he seeks from the Turkish people, both within and outside the country for unbridled powers to strengthen his presidency. 

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This also shows how desperate Erdogan is to derive more power.

Against this backdrop, the Dutch government has refused, perhaps rightly so, to welcome the visit of Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Çavusoglu, who was on his way to canvass for Erdogan ahead of the referendum.

Erdogan, beset by his ego and sense of superiority, couldn't stomach the response his foreign minister received.

His anti-Holland remarks were unsavoury, threatening and falling short of diplomatic niceties.

Matters got complicated further when Turkish minister Fatima Betul Kaya, who arrived in Rotterdam via Germany, insisted on holding a rally in the port city.

The Dutch, acting in the interest of their sovereign state, did not allow the rally to take place - leading to huge protests by local Turks, which also saw the use of force and violence.

Finally, minister Fatima was escorted out of the Netherlands via the land route, further infuriating the Turkish president, who is smarting under a great sense of insecurity.

Erdogan labelled the Dutch "Nazis", avowed punitive action and threatened to teach them a lesson.

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In present-day politics and diplomacy, the last thing a sovereign country can afford is to remain in isolation. Photo: Reuters

Such undiplomatic remarks, punctuated with aggression and belligerence, speak of a head of state who is in a hurry to consolidate power and not sure how to handle a smaller country like Holland - jeopardising bilateral relations.

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The Netherlands has 4,00,000 Turks with dual nationalities, who are eligible to take part in the referendum.

They look confused, and Erdogan's immaturity and utter lack of tact, has put them in a state of dilemma.

They thought Holland was their home, but the latest imbroglio has upset them. They may start nurturing anti-Dutch sentiments leading to problems.

Their society now stands threatened with a division along religious lines - Islam versus the rest.

This is dangerous as Erdogan's image is tainted owing to excesses on the Kurds and his leaning toward Islamic fundamentalism.

He, perhaps, thinks he has nothing to lose if the Dutch society is Islamised.

Holland already has a vocal and active politician in Wilders, who is pressurising Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cohorts to act against Islamic activists to clear the city of extremism and terror.

He illustrates cases of Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans linked to terror-related activities in Belgium and France.

The Netherlands too has refugees from Syria.

Dutch intelligence is keeping a hawkish eye on them lest some of them align with other Islamic forces (and Turkey too) to spark terror.

The fresh Dutch-Turk tensions are a bad sign and need urgent redress to suppress communal forces.

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The newly-appointed UN Secretary General and diplomats of European Union (EU) must brainstorm sooner than later for this is a moment to act, not react.

Meanwhile, the Dutch ambassador in Ankara, who is out on an assignment abroad, has been told by the Turks not to return to Turkey.

Anti-Dutch statements continue to flow incessantly.

In a recent statement, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim threatened Holland with a harsh response for its "unacceptable" behaviour.

Such fiery rhetoric, made laced with a dangerous tenor and tone pushes the situation to a "point of no return".

This is all the more reason for restraint in handling an issue that has impaired the multilateral relations between European countries and Turkey.

The first step in quelling communal passions and angst needs to be taken by Erdogan.

He must remember that he has few friends.

Putin is his newest ally, but one can't expect him to involve Russia in this issue.

Pakistan, another friend of Turkey, stands muted in this development as it will hopefully continue to be in the near future.

In present-day politics and diplomacy, the last thing a sovereign country can afford is to remain in isolation.

Erdogan should be wise enough to refrain from falling into this category.

Last updated: March 15, 2017 | 19:56
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