Turkey-Netherlands tension rises amid calls for calm

A row between Turkey and Netherlands that escalated over the latter's refusal to permit Turkish politics to hold rallies in the country has grown after Turkey issued two diplomatic notes to the Dutch envoy in Ankara amid calls from third parties for calm.

Turkey summoned the Dutch chargé d'affaires to the Turkish Foreign Ministry for the third time since March 11 to demand an official apology after Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was prevented from meeting with Turks living in the Netherlands, as well as a comprehensive probe against officers who use "disproportionate" force against Turkish demonstrators. 

Foreign Ministry sources said the Dutch Embassy's chargé d'affaires, Daan Feddo Huisinga, was summoned to the ministry early on March 13 and was given two diplomatic notes regarding the ongoing tension between the two countries. 

The first note demanded an official apology from the Dutch government on the treatment shown to Kaya and Turkish diplomats who accompanied her to Rotterdam on March 11. The note stressed the Dutch government's actions were in violation of a convention from 1961 on diplomatic missions.

The second note claimed that security officials used disproportionate force on protestors and members of the press, while demanding an investigation into the incidents on late March 11 in Rotterdam. It also underlined that Turkey's right to seek compensation was reserved. 

Dutch PM refuses to apologize

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said the Netherlands would be forced to apologize to Turkey for preventing two ministers from holding campaign rallies.

However, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte ruled out any apology for banning Foreign Minister Mevlüt...