Some EU states cannot tolerate Turkey's rise: Erdoğan

Some European Union countries cannot tolerate Turkey's rise as an emerging power, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on March 13, accusing them of working against the "Yes" vote in Turkey's April 16 constitutional referendum.      
 
"A part of the European Union countries, unfortunately, cannot tolerate the rise of Turkey, and Germany is right at the top [of the list]. Germany relentlessly supports terrorism," Erdoğan said in an interview aired live on private broadcasters A Haber and ATV.      

Erdoğan lashed out at German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said earlier on March 13 that the Netherlands had her "full support and solidarity," amid escalating crisis between Turkey and the Netherlands.
 
"Merkel! Shame on you! Stand by the Netherlands as you like. You are supporting terrorists," he said, adding that Turkey had sent Germany 4,500 files on terrorists, but Germany had done nothing about it.      

His remarks came amid an ongoing standoff between Turkey and the Netherlands after the Dutch government banned planned rallies of Turkish ministers ahead of the referendum.      

On March 11, the Dutch government first cancelled Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu's flight permit to the Netherlands and then blocked a convoy carrying Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, forcing her to leave the country under police escort.      

Turkish citizens protested the Dutch move in Rotterdam, but were met by police using batons, dogs and water cannons, which some analysts said it was a disproportionate use of force.      

The events have drawn strong criticism from the Turkish government, which, earlier on March 13, sent diplomatic notes to the Netherlands in protest.      

Two weeks ago, Turkish government...