2017 Dutch–Turkish diplomatic incident
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In March 2017, the Netherlands and Turkey were involved in a diplomatic incident, triggered by Turkish efforts to hold political rallies on Dutch territory and subsequent travel restrictions placed by Dutch authorities on Turkish officials seeking to promote the campaign for a 'yes' vote in the upcoming Turkish constitutional referendum to Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands. Such foreign campaigning is illegal under Turkish law.
The Netherlands barred the aircraft of Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu from landing and expelled Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya from the country, when both tried to speak at rallies. In response, Turkey expelled the Dutch Ambassador from the country and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the Dutch "fascists" and "remnants of Nazism" and accused the Netherlands of "massacring" Muslims in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War in 1995. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called Erdoğan's remarks "unacceptable" and a "vile falsification of history" and demanded an apology. Rutte also called for talks to resolve the impasse, adding that Turkey had crossed a diplomatic line.
On 17 March, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a campaign speech at the town of Eskişehir, called CHP party opponents of the constitutional change "the Dutch within us". In the same speech Erdoğan called for the Turkish Diaspora in the European Union to have more children, saying "Make not three, but five children. Because you are the future of Europe. That will be the best response to the injustices against you."
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