As tension between Ankara and The Hague persists after the expulsion of a Turkish minister from the Netherlands earlier in the month, Dutch police removed posters of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from the windows of shops in Rotterdam, news website tr724 reported.
According to the report, police said the step was taken due to concerns of possible tension between Erdoğan supporters and opponents ahead of a critical referendum in Turkey on April 16. Police also said the order to remove the posters came from Ahmed Aboutaleb, the mayor of Rotterdam.
A crisis erupted between Turkey and the Netherlands when The Hague on March 11 cancelled the flight clearance for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s airplane shortly after Çavuşoğlu warned that Turkey would impose “harsh sanctions” on Holland if it were to take such a step. Çavuşoğlu was scheduled to fly to Rotterdam for a campaign rally.
The crisis reached new heights when Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policy Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was expelled from the Netherlands on March 11 after she insisted on going to the residence of the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam.
Turkey has issued two diplomatic notes to the Netherlands over the country’s refusal to allow the two Turkish ministers to hold rallies in the country for the April referendum.
Ankara also said the Dutch ambassador to Turkey, who is currently on vacation, will not be able to set foot in the country again.