In response to the expulsion of Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policy Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya from the Netherlands and the use of police force against Turks demonstrating in Rotterdam, the Turkish Association of Red Meat Producers has sent 40 Dutch cows back to Holland, the Hürriyet daily reported on Wednesday.
Bülent Tunç, head of the association, told the media that the Holstein cows were sent back to the Netherlands today from the Biga dairy in Çanakkale province.
Underlining that as a symbolic move they “deported” only 40 cows, Tunç said: “If they won’t take them back, we can butcher them and give the meat out to the people.”
In a similar move, independent member of the Beşiktaş City Council Hüseyin Avni Sipahi said on Monday that he would butcher a cow that came from the Netherlands in retaliation against the Dutch.
Supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) protested the Netherlands on Sunday by cutting, skewering and squeezing oranges in İzmit.
Orange is the color of the Dutch royal family.
Tensions remain high between the two countries since two Turkish ministers were prevented from holding political rallies in the Netherlands over the weekend and Dutch police used force to disperse Turks protesting the incidents in Rotterdam.
Two Turkish diplomats were reportedly detained after Minister Kaya was expelled from the country when she insisted on entering the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam. Kaya had crossed the border into the Netherlands by car after The Hague revoked clearance for the aircraft of Turkish politicians to land on Dutch soil.