AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (BBC)—Turkey is “completely detached from reality” in calling the Dutch fascists, European Council President Donald Tusk has said.
His remarks come amid a row between Turkey and European nations over campaigning for a Turkish referendum.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Dutch government of being “Nazi remnants.”
He was infuriated when a minister was barred from addressing a Rotterdam rally, sparking clashes with police.
Erdogan’s rhetoric intensified when he accused the Dutch of carrying out the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in 1995.
In his remarks to the European Parliament on Wednesday Tusk said the Netherlands was “a place of freedom and democracy. And for sure Rotterdam,” he said.
“The city of Erasmus, brutally destroyed by the Nazis, which today has a mayor born in Morocco,” he added.
“If anyone sees fascism in Rotterdam, they are completely detached from reality.”
Germany and Austria have also acted to stop Turkish rallies aimed at stirring support for a “yes” vote in a April 16 referendum on giving President Erdogan greater powers.
Turks believe that they are from more important civilization than Europeans! This is why when they run away from Turkey all of sudden become homesick, and turk again!