© ANPIn the past few days, the relationship between the Netherlands and Turkey has turned sour due to a decision made by the Dutch government to deny the campaigning visit of two Turkish ministers.
Far-right and anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders was one of the first to immediately ask for a political debate on the coming visits, in an effort to reach consensus to prevent them from taking place. Soon after, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte - with full support from the House of Representatives - decided to bar both Sayan Kaya and Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu from visiting, supposedly because of "a danger to public order and for security reasons". Interestingly, this decision actually triggered mayhem in the streets.
Also, a week earlier, Rutte wrote on his Facebook page that "the Dutch public space is not the place to conduct another country's political campaign". However, when Dutch politicians (including Han ten Broeke, a member of Rutte's own political party), 'conduct their country's political campaign' in the UK, it is apparently considered perfectly normal.
Regardless of the lack of Dutch hospitality, Sayan Kaya still decided to go to the Netherlands, and arrived in the city of Rotterdam in the evening on Saturday March 11th, but was 'escorted' by police officers to Germany, where she took a plane back to Turkey. Cavusoglu, on the other hand reached the French city of Metz, where he will give his talk, after his initial plan to speak in Rotterdam was thwarted due to his landing rights being revoked.
The Netherlands has now joined three other nations who have banned similar meetings by Turkish officials: Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. These actions clearly further the agenda to alienate Erdogan from EU nations, as a response to his efforts to strengthen Turkey's relationship with - the US Deep State's, and therefore EU's, worst enemy - Russia.
'No' camp allowed, 'Yes' camp not allowed
While the media widely covered the upcoming visits of both of Erdogan's ministers, there was little media coverage of the visits from Turkish political campaigners against the Turkish referendum, all of whom have been allowed to address their audiences in EU nations.
An article published on March 4th by Dutch news outlet NOS notes that during a meeting among no-voters of the referendum a few weeks back in the Netherlands, Keklik Yucel, Dutch member of the Labor Party no less, said: "Here we'll have the Dutch elections on March 15th, that's very important. But April 16th in Turkey is even more important. We have to take that very seriously. Everybody in the Netherlands and Turkey has to practice their voting rights. 'No' is the only answer to this referendum."
According to the article, a group of Turkish parliamentarians will arrive in the Netherlands to gain more votes against the referendum. In response to this, Rutte said he was 'not aware' of the no-campaign in the Netherlands: "This is news to me. We'll first investigate the matter and see if that's allowed." Since then, little has come out in the media regarding this.
This was not, however, news to pro-referendum campaign leader Mustafa Aslan in the Netherlands, who was deeply shocked upon hearing that Cavusoglu was not allowed to campaign in Rotterdam, and said: "If people from the 'no' camp are allowed to organize meetings, people from the 'yes' camp should be allowed to do so as well, right? In August we had a meeting with politicians from the AK party, which was no problem at the time. I don't understand. There are no laws or treaties that forbid this."
© BlickSwiss paper urges Turks to vote ‘no’ in referendum, calls Erdogan dictator - 'No' campaigners have not faced any obstacles for holding meetings in European countries.
Anti-Erdogan propaganda
In order to understand the bigger picture here, one should keep in mind that in the past couple of years, Dutch journalists and politicians have gone into overdrive when it comes to casting Erdogan in the worst possible light.
Since the failed, US-backed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016, Erdogan has been cleaning house in order to prevent a similar illegal coup from ever happening again. An understandable response from any leader who would be in a similar situation. However, headlines and statements emerged from Dutch politicians and journalists who claim that Erdogan is a 'ruthless dictator for firing so many teachers, policemen and lawyers'. Other examples of anti-Erdogan propagandists from the EU include Dutch politician Alexander Pechtold, who claimed that Erdogan is "not a democrat, but a dictator". Would-be Dutch Prime Minister Geert Wilders has stated that he regrets the fact that the coup in Turkey failed, and Dutch journalist Fidan Ekiz wrote that "we now have a type of Putin in Turkey", and went on to explain:
"Erdogan will continue his witch hunt, until no one dares to open his mouth anymore. There is no longer a democracy, in fact, he is using democracy to expand his power. Perhaps this was his plan, after all he did say: 'Democracy is like a train, you get off once you have reached your destination'."Truth be told, if the majority of the Turkish people were truly unhappy with Erdogan ruling their country, they would not have taken to the streets en mass to prevent the coup attempt succeeding.
All those who have been paying attention to geopolitical world events over the past 15 years must surely be skeptical of the 'dictator' narrative as it is used by Western politicians. We've all seen it used already against Gaddafi, Assad, and Putin, all three leaders being very much supported and loved by the majority of their people. Clearly, something stinks when Erdogan is tarred with the same inane brush.
SOTT Editor Joe Quinn explained at the time of the failed Turkish coup attempt:
Writing on the wall for Erdogan: Align with Russia, Iran and Syria or Turkey's destruction awaitsTake-home message
Mon, 25 Jul 2016
On the positive side, there are signs that Erdogan is finally waking up to some harsh geopolitical realities. It was, after all, his decision to turn towards Russia and modify his belligerent stance on Syria that triggered the Anglo-American axis of 'creative destruction' move to oust him. This was an act of desperation by Western powers, but it also very nearly succeeded. ...
While ignorant Western commentators self-righteously and hypocritically condemn this cleansing of the Turkish political, military and public sectors, they fail to understand that such measures are necessary in order to prevent the 'Syrianization' of Turkey. However 'horrid' and 'undemocratic' the Western media may portray Erdogan's 'cleaning house', consider that the alternative is likely tens or hundreds of thousands of ordinary Turkish men, women and children being blown to pieces in a 'civil war'. ...
As a long-time NATO member, Western influence within Turkey's military and political infrastructure is but one inevitable result. It goes way beyond that though. Long-term exposure to US influence means that, today, the very fabric of Turkish society - certainly among its intelligentsia - has been molded in the image of its creator(s): the 'reality-creators' of Washington and Wall Street. Erdogan now knows he can count on majority public support, but the path of transition from NATO subordination to Eurasian integration will be a tricky one, and almost certainly see the Empire use every dirty trick in the book to bring Erdogan and the Turkish people to their knees. The only chance the Turks have of weathering such a storm is to seek safe harbor in the arms of Mother Russia and friends.
Since the failed coup attempt, relations between Russia and Turkey have become stronger. As put forward during the latest Behind the Headlines SOTT Radio Show, if the majority of Turkish people in Turkey and abroad vote 'yes' for the referendum, this will mean more power for Erdogan and therefore a better ability to take out any remaining or appearing 5th columnists who may attempt to (1) sabotage Turkey's relationship with Russia (as they attempted with the downing of a Russian jet) (2) stage another coup (3) use the Kurds to carve out a Kurdistan in Northern Syria and Southern Turkey, a new country that would be controlled by the West and act as a barrier to Iranian and Russian (energy) influence in the region (4) bring terrorism and chaos to the Turkish people.
But the Deep State in the US, and their followers in the EU, are not happy when any country, especially a NATO member, starts to build close ties with Russia. Therefore, Erdogan certainly ought to be prevented from acquiring the power necessary to run Turkey as an independent nation. All of this explains why there has been such a critical response to Turkish yes-campaigners, and not to the no-campaigners in the Netherlands and other EU nations. In a nutshell, it has little to do with 'danger to public order' or 'the Dutch public space not being a space for foreign political campaigns', and everything to do with thwarting efforts by Erdogan to gain more control over his own country and its future.
Putin and Erdogan during their meeting on March 10th, 2017. A picture that wouldn't get many 'likes' from 5th columnists in Turkey, the CIA and the West.
As a response to this latest act by the Netherlands, Turkey has vowed to 'retaliate in harshest ways', which may include sanctions. As of now, Turkish Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus has said at a news conference that Turkey has suspended all high-level diplomatic talks, and that diplomatic flights to Turkey will be stopped. Earlier, it was declared that the Dutch ambassador is not welcome to return to Turkey. As if to highlight the geo-political reality behind this 'diplomatic row', part of Erdogan's response to the treatment meted out to his ministers in the EU was to state (again) that all terrorists in the Middle East are armed by Western nations:
"The West arms all terrorists in the Middle East. Although the West still denies this fact, Ankara has documentary evidence of arms deliveries. There also are photos on which terrorists are wearing uniforms of these countries," Erdogan said, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.Don't expect to see that little piece of news widely reported by the Western press.
Reuters recently reported that Erdogan mentioned during a live broadcast on television that they will "carry out whatever our diplomatic sanctions are... We will make sure the Netherlands are rapidly held accountable for this," adding, "They use international law whenever it suits them, they make excuses for it. We will go to the European Court of Human Rights as well. Our friends are currently making the necessary preparations."
Considering that trade between the Netherlands and Turkey has tripled in the past ten years, any imposed (counter-)sanctions will cause damage to the economy in both countries. Hardworking Dutch citizens already have suffered losses as a result of their leaders playing the anti-Russia game along with their Western partners, and they may very likely have shot themselves in the foot once again.
Reader Comments
To me the Netherlands is home to one of the most enlightened, pragmatic people on the planet.
I have you to thank for one of the beautiful writings I have ever read. It was an article about time.
That said, he's still useful in the 'divide and conquer' pattern in Europe, but surely his wetdreams of a New Ottoman Empire are getting the best of him... does he think he can expose NATO's lies and deceptions in arming, training and taking care of those terrorists without having even more fingers pointed at him? He doesn't seem to have learned from Jordan's example of keeping a low profile when participating on these regime change ops... he hasn't yet learned that he can't have it both ways...but he soon will... same way they all do, as it seems the only way they learn... but the same goes for all of us initially, so why shouldn't Erdo get his fill of the cup? And 'his' people as well, not much different in Greece.. assuming they had a real election... they are all bumping up against that wall of reality and finding it most unpleasant.
As I see it, he's primarily trying to wrest back control of his country from the One World Government, like Duterte, Putin and a few others.
Erdo just wants Gulen out of the way for good so he doesn't have the competition for control of the country.... but this is classic, most countries do this... shut down or take over the press/media, the education system, etc. Essentially, he's the head agent for the ponerological push in Turkey... taking the place of Gulen, trying to replace our GLadio B operators with his own... all those terrorists he's been assisting in their 'liberation' of Syria.. etc. etc. He's definitely not like Duterte, Putin, Xi at all... huge difference, though the policies can seem the same at times. In my opinion, the question is whether he's a psycho or just a sociopath, as I doubt he's one of the chosen people... but I could be wrong on that point.. he seems a useful idiot type.... easy to manipulate. If the CIA wanted him dead in that coup, they would have shot him down themselves with various methods while his plane was in the air.... could easily have blamed it on Gulen, the YPG or the many terrorists he's been supporting... those Turkish troops aren't in nothern Syria to spread peace or 'wrest back control of his country from the One World Government'... you weren't serious with that comment were you?
Excerpt from:
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Although, there's a ghastly rumour going 'round the internet that Wilders wears tinted lenses.
"And the blondes shall inherit the Earth," I believe the prophecy goes.
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obliteration, sorry, 'protection' of Libya in 2011.Trying explain the actions of terrorists and what not. Blame it on the west. And yes, the west has a claim on oil and is military superior. But I am glad about that. We need to secure our energy resources. By agreement. But the countries where the oils is found are often volatile, extreme in religion and corrupt. So we need to use force to secure that we are not thrown back to the stone ages. Either by the lack of energy or by a dominant backward religion.
From Afghanistan to Syria, from mujahedeen to ISIS: A short history of US-led warfare
The barbarous phenomenon we recently witnessed in France has roots that go back to at least 1979 when the mujahedeen made their appearance in Afghanistan. At that time their ire was directed at...It's this profoundly schizoidal paranoia that produces hegemony, and it's this that made everything around the world so chaotic. Maybe that'll change if China (and other 'barbarians') continues asserting 'win-win' diplomacy of (genuinely) mutual cooperation (if the West doesn't destroy everything first, mind you). Ja, why not cover all the bases? Put it down to both religion and genetics! No wonder Martina wrote what she wrote. I guess then Europeans suffer from... an excess of energy? More prone to certain predatory characteristics, perhaps? (All couched in fine words and civilizing narratives, of course...)
The Turkish government asked a week ago for approval to hold political meetings in the Netherlands in order to win yes votes for Erdogan. (A yes vote that will instantly give him full control over Turkey. Bud that aside) The Dutch government agreed with that bud had some guidelines that they did not wanted to be crossed. The Turks did not agreed on those and at a certain point started in the discussion to threaten with sanctions against Holland. The Dutch government than said that they will not continue the discussion under treats and that therefore no meetings could be organised. Sins the Turks, out of a misplaced superiority feeling, do not take NO for an answer they started to organise meetings in Holland in secret. Trying to rent meeting halls and what not. But this came out. One minister came by plane and received no landing rights. But at the same time, as a diversion, another minister came by car hoping not to be detected heading for Den Haag. Just before the German/Dutch border the Turkish group split in 2 with in each group a car with a scarfed woman so that the Dutch authorities did at first not know who to follow. (how far can you go, right?) In the mean time the Major of Rotterdam contacted the Turkish consul and asked him about this all. This Turkish consul lied about the issue and denied to know anything. The Turkish minister was eventually intercepted and escorted out of the country.
T he reason that the Dutch government was not willing to let Turkey campaign in Holland without restrictions is because in the recent past it became clear that Erdogan supporters ( Dutch/Turks) living in Holland are terrorising and threatening non Erdogan supporters living in Holland with violence and dead. As you clearly could see, the flag waving and stone trowing criminals last weekend in Rotterdam are the Dutch/Turkish Erdogan supporters with a double nationality. Actually these Erdogan Turks living in Holland are a pain in the ass. The Turkish government, for that matter, has been for the last years a pain in the ass of Europe. For example in the recent past, during the Gullen issue, the Turkish consulate had issued letters to Turks living in Holland asking them to report to the consulate the names of Turks that are NOT supporting Erdogan. The Dutch government had to put a stop to this. Nothing but trouble, so to speak.
There is nothing more to it. The message is clear to Turkey. You have no say in the Dutch politics and we do not want your shit in our country.
With regard to this article, it's not about siding with anyone or a particular country or a religion, but rather about presenting a possible explanation to current events, taking much more into account than the reported narrative by Western mainstream media. Which you may not agree with, of course. Yep.
There's a lot more to it. For one thing; your country is not sovereign - it is a vassal of Washington, DC, which is a price it has to pay for everything there being 'so great'. So it's a safe bet that this 'crisis' is either directed by or done with the encouragement of 'the boss'.
Why should anyone care about Turkey? Well, along with Iran and Egypt, it's the most populous country in the Middle East. Turks, Persians, Arabs: if those three countries continue their trend of cooperation, they will supplant the Israel-Gulf Monarchs system, which has ruled there for the last century thanks to weapons and soldiers from Europe and America. Think of it as a modern, hundred-years-long crusade coming to an end.
Why should anyone care about that? Well, in your case, it would mean no more Muslim refugees coming to your country. Enticing, no?
By the way, the status quo, which will soon become history in one way or another, is what your country is helping to maintain: a Middle East that remains backwards and underdeveloped so that cheap oil and gas continues to flow from there. (Dutch military participated in destroying Libya back in 2011, then the waves of refugees Gaddafi warned about began arriving in Europe.)
This could all be cleared up if the European/American militaries stayed out of the Middle East, left the region alone to develop, then traded fairly with it.
You are listing a lot of "facts" that you must have from written history or the news. You "know" that the news lies. Than it is safe to say that you believe only what suits you.
The reality is, if Westerners were serious about overthrowing their own corrupt elites, they'd have to 'purge' similar or higher numbers (probably much higher). Not only will they not do so, preferring instead to go down with the sinking ship - all the while believing it still rules the waves - they will be activated, like your good self, towards stopping other peoples from doing so. Yes, but a more accurate term would be 'nationalizing'. Turkey is making a break for freedom from the 'NWO'. Erdogan is getting old now, so it's really about what will come after him. I don't think much of Turkey's chances of success (I'm the pessimistic type!), but there you have it. The whole world is suffering, Noke. Just take care of yourself and those closest to you, and you'll be fine. Contextual understanding built up from 20+ years of effort by a network of 150+ volunteer editors from all over the world dedicated to studying and understanding how the world really works and how people really think. Our opinions are better informed. You travelled the world, yet know less than us. So we stick to our methods.
Niall has brought up some very good and important points, and I hope you will at least consider them. In any case, I wish you good luck on your journey and I hope you will find the answers that you're looking for.
Consider also these thoughts from actual Turks in The Netherlands:
Özbek vindt dat Nederland en de Europese Unie zich niet met het referendum moeten bemoeien. “Nederland wil verbieden dat de minister van buitenlandse zaken hier campagne komt voeren. Het nee-kamp voert ook campagne. Waarom het ja-kamp niet? Het referendum gaat ons als Turken aan. Hier heeft Nederland niets mee te maken.”
Naast hem aan de bar staat Kenan Cosar (35). “Ik stem voor onze grote vriend Erdogan”, zegt hij lachend. Cosar is niet bang dat Erdogan te veel macht krijgt. “Onder Erdogan is de Turkse economie opgebloeid. Het gaat goed met het land. Ja, Erdogan krijgt meer macht na het referendum. Als mensen achter hem blijven staan, is dat geen probleem. We willen niet nog een coup .” Cosar is niet bang dat meer presidentiële macht de democratie in de weg staat. Hij is ook niet bang om zijn mening te geven. “ De ja- en nee-stemmers gaan hier nog prima door één deur .”
[Link] They did threaten with sanctions, indeed. So? This is what you're referring to: " Zij stuurden verschillende colonnes de Nederlandse wegen op, zodat de Nederlandse politie een tijd achter de verkeerde auto zat. " [Link] Which doesn't matter at all. She was found in the end, wasn't she? You mean once both ministers were refused to campaign? Do you know how many were arrested? I will tell you: 12 people. The majority of Turks who were protesting wanted it to be a peaceful protest, not a violent one. It will give him more power, which is mentioned in the article. Your cup is full, Noke.
You write " regardless of the lack of hospitality from the Dutch...." I This is a biased and negative statement. You could also formulate it as follows " Despite the fact that both countries had not agreed on the terms yet ..... ". That sounds much better. But as I said, you are biased and choses side. No problem but than SAY that.
A consul, from any country, should not lie. If he does, he reduces the country that he represents to a not trustworthy nation which Turkey obviously is. He should be kicked out of the Netherlands but since the Dutch are to polite he probably will be reprimanded.
The no camp can campaign and the yes camp can not, according to Uzbek. That is a good point and sounds as a biased action from the Dutch government. But the Dutch HAD allowed the yes camp to campaign but the Turks did not agreed on some terms. I remind you that in Holland the Dutch are setting the rules, not Erdogan. It is safe to say that the Dutch, like any other western country, is highly suspicious about a known corrupt leader who is organising a referendum to get HIMSELF in utmost power WHILE the nation is in emergency state. That is in stride with every democratic principle. That of course can have something to do with it as well. Logical, I might say.
Kenna Cosar has an easy choice to make from a bar in Rotterdam. Its pointless what this man thinks because he is not effected by his choices and always under the protection of one of the greatest democracies in the world. That is the reason why he is in Holland in the first place, I guess. The victims are the Turks in Turkey. That is why I am so active on your posts, actually! There is a large chance that this website is censored in Turkey so they cannot really talk for themselves. It is clear that you are not familiar with any Turks living actually IN turkey. The economics have been growing under Erdogan for sure. But during the last years, due to the same Erdogan, the economics in the country is going rapidly down the drain. 30 % less tourism and a LIRA in free fall for temple. That does not budder Erdogan a lot because his money is safe in Switzerland.
The treaten with sanctions seems for you a normal way of debating between two friendly states. In Afghanistan and Turkey this might be correct. But not in Holland or in any other western country where there is democracy. Agreements in a democracy are reached without pressure. A lesson that the Turks learned this weekend, I would say. Every reader of your piece now, with this information, understands that there have been something fishy in the Turkish approach which they otherwise would not have understood. That changes a lot.
I read that you find it irrelevant that the Turkish government deliberately send out 2 collons of cars in an attempt to misguide the authorities. It seems that you think that this was a game of hide and seek as done by children. If you not get caught it is all ok. That is a strange view from a woman who wrote such a loaded piece of text on such a difficult subject. A subject that literally could have killed people because the Dutch police was authorised to shoot at the 12 Turks accompanying the minister as bodyguards. Authorised by the mayor of Rotterdam who is..... Moroccan! I believe that most of the readers here now understand that Turkey played a dubious and dangerous game in the matter and that no country in the world would have tolerate the behaviour of the Turks. If the same would have happened in Turkey,mind you, people would have been killed.
The Dutch have resolved the problem with skill and with great tactics.
Y ou write that 12 people have been arrested. In the first place that is 12 to much. The police is looking for 40 to 50 more rioters after watching the recordings. The Turks where disappointed that their minister never arrived. But she was never suppose to arrive in the first place. It is the Turks who claimed that she would arrive against better knowledge.
The referendum gives him all the power he needs, my dear. You bring it as an understatement.
I am glad that we have agreed on balancing you're writing. Now it is possible to get a good view of what has happened and to form a good opinion.
My opinion is that I wished the Turks came peacefully and campaigned in a few places spread over Holland. I also wished that it all went different and that they reached agreement. But now that it did not, we should follow a hard line on Turkey. Europe should. But whatever we do, we will never take actions that ultimately will hurt the Turkish citizens. Like withdrawing our 22 Billion investments for example. We fully understand that the Turkish people are the victims of a dictator who acts regardless his citizens.
Now my cup is truly full Bahar and I thank you for your patience.
Carry on, sir.
A similar strict treatment of campaigners against the referendum is absent . None of the escalations would have occurred if the Dutch would have allowed the ministers to speak as they had planned, just as they, for example, had allowed a Dutch-Turkish politician to speak against the referendum.
All this took place before the Dutch elections. PM Rutte showed with his actions that he 'is not afraid to put his foot down'. This, according to some journalists in the Netherlands, allowed his popularity to rise. Which may have helped his party win 33 seats. They say that if the ministers were allowed to speak, this could've helped Wilders to gather more votes, as he could use the visits of 'ministers campaigning for a dictator', as ammo against Rutte's 'soft' way of handling political matters. This may be why Dutch media initially reported the possibility that the Turkish minister may be allowed to hold his meeting after the Dutch elections. Then, there is Turkey's connection with Russia, the coup attempt, and much more to keep in mind, as explained in the article.
Ultimately, there are many factors at play, and it is not as simple as some people suggest: 'Turkey is a 'regime'. They didn't agree with terms. Dutch democratic government was acting appropriately.' Certainly, Sayan Kaya could've decided to cancel her plans and visit France instead, and she certainly could've taken a different approach.
Regarding the protest in Rotterdam, there were 1,000 attendees, not 1,000 troublemakers. Twelve were arrested, and there is no information nor statement as of yet from the police that they're looking for any other rioters. If there are, hopefully they will be found. Those 12 will face adequate consequences for their violent behavior. It's unfortunate that some people use their behavior to tar every (Erdogan-supporting) Turk in Rotterdam with the same brush. There is a lot more I want to say about the topic, but I will leave it here. In the end, trying to understand the bigger picture was the intent of this article. As Niall said:
In the mean time the underworld thrives. Prostitution is legal, same sex marriage is legal, drugs are legal, euthanasia is legal. Give me a break, put two bandits together and then start wondering why they start shooting at each other.
You cannot swear allegiance to more than ONE country, having a foot in each country, becomes most painful over time.
The day countries resort to changing their laws to outlaw DUAL citizenship, will bring back an even keel, and resolve the problem that's currently splitting the citizens of Holland.
DUAL citizenship was persued by the N.W.O. deliberately to assist with their "DIVIDE AND CONQUER" policy, and going by events currently underway in Holland, is working our exactly as planned.
For the folks indigenous to Holland, you'd better wake up to yourselves, otherwise you'll wake up one day and the Holland you were born into, will no longer exist.
Ignore at your peril.
This pretty much sums up that situation, but the Turks and Sauds et al, probably don't see the bigger picture and how they are being used, but that is par for the course, not much different here in the USA or EU area with their 'establishment'. The whole SG side of the equation isn't mentioned, as it's essentially labelled the 'deep state'... as next to nothing is really known of the SG outside of their involvement in the deep state... as for the hyperdimensional? forget about it.....
An inability to open the mind to anything outside the box as seen... which makes all of these operators so easy to manipulate... I seriously doubt Erdo and the House of Saud knows how they are being played... which is what makes them so useful... same with most establishment types.... all of them serve as necessary pawns on the board...gotta keep the game going.