ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) – Turkey’s top diplomat has drawn more than a hundred people at a campaign gathering in the northern French city of Metz amid a diplomatic spat with the Netherlands.

 Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in France Sunday to whip up support for controversial constitutional reforms to expand the powers of the Turkish presidency.

Supporters draped in Turkish flags greeted the minister as he reached the Centre des Congres of Metz with cheers of “Turkey” and “God is Great.”

Turkish officials have been scheduling campaign events for the referendum in several European countries with sizable populations of Turkish expatriates.

Cavusoglu was blocked Saturday from holding a rally in the Dutch city of Rotterdam after the Netherlands withdrew his landing permission.

The diplomatic incident has triggered an exchange of sharp words and tit-for-tat moves between the two NATO allies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he appropriately accused the Dutch government of “Nazism and fascism, saying only those types of regimes would bar foreign ministers from traveling within their countries.

Erdogan also said during a live televised address on Sunday that the Netherlands would “pay the price” for sacrificing its ties with a NATO ally to upcoming elections there.

He also said Turkey would retaliate for the ousting of the Turkish family affairs minister from the Netherlands.

Erdogan said: “I have said that I had thought that Nazism was over, but that I was wrong. Nazism is alive in the West.”

He thanked France, which allowed Turkey’s foreign minister to address Turkish citizens in the city of Metz on Sunday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he was forced by threats from Ankara to keep two Turkish ministers from traveling within the Netherlands on Saturday.

Turkish foreign minister warns there “will be repercussions” against the Netherlands and that an “apology was not enough” as tensions continue escalating between the two NATO allies.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu talked with reporters Sunday in Metz, France where he condemned Dutch authorities canceling campaign rallies by himself and another cabinet member.

Noting that Ankara already had barred the Dutch ambassador from returning to Turkey, Cavusoglu added: “We have other steps in mind. We’ve already begun planning them. We will certainly take those steps and more.”

Cavusoglu says Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had “arrogantly” said he could only come to the Netherlands to deliver tulips and tour museums, but not to see Turks living in the country.

The minister also condemned that treatment of Turkish protesters in Rotterdam, saying he would show photographs of dogs being released on them.

A French official says Turkish foreign minister is being allowed to address a rally in the country’s eastern city of Metz because the event represents no threat to public order.

Alain Carton, secretary general of the Metz prefecture, said Sunday that in the absence of such a risk, the rally must be permitted in the name of the freedom of assembly.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared at a midday rally with the local Turkish population that also was expected to draw Turkish expatriates from a nearby region of Germany.

The decision by French authorities to permit Cavusoglu to campaign in the country for a Turkish referendum that would expand the powers of the president contrasts with the position of the Dutch.

The Dutch government refused Saturday to allow Cavusoglu to land in Rotterdam because of objections to his intention to rally for the Turkish referendum.

A man has climbed onto the roof of the Dutch consulate in Istanbul and replaced the Netherlands’ flag with the Turkish one.

 Television footage shows a man standing on the roof of the building shouting Allahu Akbar, Arabic for “God is great.”

A small group of men holding Turkish flags are seen outside the consulate shouting “Damn Holland” and “Racist Holland.”

The incident occurred Sunday morning amid escalating tensions between the two NATO allies after the Netherlands barred two Turkish ministers for campaigning for an upcoming referendum on Saturday.

Private Dogan news agency reports the consulatelater took down Turkey’s flag and put the Dutch flag back up.

The man is still unidentified.</s>Turkey’s family minister flew home to Istanbul on Sunday after Dutch authorities expelled her for seeking to woo the vote of expatriate Turks for a key referendum at home.

A crowd waving Turkish flags greeted Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya at the airport, where she said she and her entourage were subjected to “rude and tough treatment”.

Her expulsion came after Dutch authorities barred Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from entering the Netherlands, where he, too, had planned to campaign for the April referendum that would boost the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.</s>ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- After an unprecedented diplomatic fight between the Netherlands and Turkey, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sunday he would seek to control the damage caused by the weekend incidents when he prevented two Turkish ministers from campaigning in the Netherlands. Rutte's actions, which came two days after several German municipalities canceled rallies that Turkish Cabinet ministers had planned to address, prompted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday to accuse the Dutch of being "Nazi remnants." At the same time, Turkey kept its drive going to rally people of Turkish descent living in European Union nations to back a referendum that would expand Erdogan's powers. After being denied landing rights in the Netherlands on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed crowds in the French city of Metz, where the French government had no qualms about permitting government representatives to Turkish rallies. The Netherlands said Turkish attempts to campaign here touched at the heart of Dutch citizenhood, although hundreds of thousands have Turkish roots and many still feel committed to their ancestral homeland. "The biggest problem in this case is that Turkey is talking about Turkish citizens who they want to talk to," Rutte said. "These are Dutch citizens who possibly also have voting rights in Turkey." The diplomatic fight comes at a tough time in the Netherlands, which has national election on Wednesday, and where issues of Dutch identity and relations with migrant communities and Islam have taken center stage. In a neck and neck race, the parties of either Rutte or populist firebrand Geert Wilders could end up the most votes. Rutte said it was important for his government not to bow to Turkish pressure, especially, he said, after Ankara threatened sanctions if the Dutch kept its ministers out. "Turkey is a proud nation; the Netherlands is a proud nation. We can never do business under those sorts of threats and blackmail," said Rutte. Still, added the prime minister, his government "will keep working to de-escalate where we can. If the Turks choose to escalate, we will have to react, but we will do everything we can to de-escalate." After a tense standoff outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday night, Turkey's family and social policies minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, was escorted back to the German border. Police in Rotterdam said they arrested 12 people as a demonstration outside the Turkish consulate in the city devolved into rioting. Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said the arrests, made for alleged violence and public order offenses, came as protesters pelted police with bottles and rocks early Sunday. Police responded with baton charges and a water cannon. Wessels says seven people were injured in the brief explosion of violence, including one police officer who suffered a broken hand.</s>A diplomatic row over a cancelled Turkish rally in the Netherlands has escalated after the Dutch government refused to let the Turkish foreign minister land, and then refused to allow the family affairs minister enter the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decried the Dutch as "Nazi remnants", while Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has threatened "harsh" retaliation.</s>After an unprecedented diplomatic fight between the Netherlands and Turkey, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sunday he would seek to control the damage caused by the weekend incidents when he prevented two Turkish ministers from campaigning in the Netherlands.

Rutte’s actions, which came two days after several German municipalities cancelled rallies that Turkish Cabinet ministers had planned to address, prompted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday to accuse the Dutch of being “Nazi remnants.”

At the same time, Turkey kept its drive going to rally people of Turkish descent living in European Union nations to back a referendum that would expand Erdogan’s powers.

After being denied landing rights in the Netherlands on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed crowds in the French city of Metz, where the French government had no qualms about permitting government representatives to Turkish rallies.

The Netherlands said Turkish attempts to campaign here touched at the heart of Dutch citizenhood, although hundreds of thousands have Turkish roots and many still feel committed to their ancestral homeland.

“The biggest problem in this case is that Turkey is talking about Turkish citizens who they want to talk to,” Rutte said. “These are Dutch citizens who possibly also have voting rights in Turkey.”

The diplomatic fight comes at a tough time in the Netherlands, which has national election on Wednesday, and where issues of Dutch identity and relations with migrant communities and Islam have taken centre stage. In a neck and neck race, the parties of either Rutte or populist firebrand Geert Wilders could end up the most votes.

Rutte said it was important for his government not to bow to Turkish pressure, especially, he said, after Ankara threatened sanctions if the Dutch kept its ministers out.

“Turkey is a proud nation; the Netherlands is a proud nation. We can never do business under those sorts of threats and blackmail,” said Rutte.

Still, added the prime minister, his government “will keep working to de-escalate where we can. If the Turks choose to escalate, we will have to react, but we will do everything we can to de-escalate.”

After a tense standoff outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday night, Turkey’s family and social policies minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, was escorted back to the German border.

Police in Rotterdam said they arrested 12 people as a demonstration outside the Turkish consulate in the city devolved into rioting.

Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said the arrests, made for alleged violence and public order offences, came as protesters pelted police with bottles and rocks early Sunday. Police responded with baton charges and a water cannon.

Wessels says seven people were injured in the brief explosion of violence, including one police officer who suffered a broken hand.</s>Mike Corder, Cinar Kiper And Raf Casert, The Associated Press 

 



ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drove his dispute with European nations to the hilt Sunday, boldly claiming that "Nazism is alive in the West" after two of his ministers were prevented from campaigning in the Netherlands over the weekend.

While Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte worked to contain the diplomatic damage from his unusual actions, Erdogan made it clear during an address broadcast live that Turkey would not be easily appeased.

He said Ankara would retaliate for the ousting of the Turkish family affairs minister from the Netherlands in an unprecedented midnight standoff outside the country's Rotterdam consulate between a high-level government official and police in full gear.

Earlier in the day, the Netherlands had already denied Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu landing rights to address crowds at a Rotterdam rally.

"I said 'I thought Nazism was over,' but I was wrong. In fact, Nazism is alive in the West," he said from Istanbul, reviving memories of Europe's darkest past in remarks similar to ones he made about Germany earlier this month.

To bolster support for an April 16 referendum that would expand the powers of Turkey's president, Turkish cabinet ministers have been scheduling campaign trips to several European countries with sizable populations of Turkish expatriates.

However, some European nations claim that Turkey under Erdogan is slowly slipping toward dictatorial means, especially since the aborted coup of last summer. Rutte cited that concern in asking Cavusoglu not to come to the Netherlands.

The furor between two NATO allies comes at a crucial time in the Netherlands, where issues of Dutch identity, relations with migrant communities and Islam have taken centre stage in the runup to a national election on Wednesday.

In a neck and neck race, the parties of either Rutte or populist firebrand Geert Wilders could end up with the most votes.

Rutte said it was important for his government not to bow to Turkish pressure, especially, he said, after Ankara threatened sanctions if the Dutch kept its ministers out.

"Turkey is a proud nation; the Netherlands is a proud nation. We can never do business under those sorts of threats and blackmail," said Rutte.

Rutte's actions, which came two days after several German municipalities cancelled rallies that Turkish Cabinet ministers had planned to address, prompted Erdogan on Saturday to accuse the Dutch of being "Nazi remnants."

On Sunday, he further heaped on the criticism while demanding an apology from the Dutch.

"If you sacrifice Turkish-Dutch relations to the elections on Wednesday, then you will pay the price," Erdogan warned.

"Those who treat my foreign minister, my economy minister, our legislator friends in a shameless way, will pay the price. Those who unleash the dogs and their hatred will pay the price," he added in reference to images showing police dogs biting protesters.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said no apologies would be forthcoming.

Amid the sparring, Cavosoglu was allowed to campaign Sunday in the northern French city of Metz.

Alain Carton, secretary general of the Metz prefecture, said the rally presented no threat to public order and in the absence of such a risk, the rally was permitted in the name of the freedom of assembly.

About 100 supporters draped in Turkish flags greeted the minister as he reached the Centre des Congres of Metz with cheers of "Turkey" and "God is Great."

The Netherlands said Turkish attempts to campaign here touched at the heart of Dutch citizenhood, although hundreds of thousands of residents have Turkish roots and many still feel committed to their ancestral homeland.

"The biggest problem in this case is that Turkey is talking about Turkish citizens who they want to talk to," Rutte said. "These are Dutch citizens who possibly also have voting rights in Turkey."

Still, added the prime minister, his government "will keep working to de-escalate where we can. If the Turks choose to escalate, we will have to react, but we will do everything we can to de-escalate."

After a tense standoff outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday night, Turkey's family and social policies minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, was escorted back to the German border.

Police in Rotterdam said they arrested 12 people as a demonstration outside the Turkish consulate in the city devolved into rioting.

Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said the arrests, made for alleged violence and public order offences, came as protesters pelted police with bottles and rocks early Sunday. Police responded with baton charges and a water cannon.

Wessels says seven people were injured in the brief explosion of violence, including one police officer who suffered a broken hand.

Kiper reported from Istanbul. Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara. Dominque Soguel contributed from Metz, France.</s>Turkey will retaliate in the “harshest ways” to Dutch moves to bar the flight of the Turkish foreign minister and prevent the family minister from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sunday.

“This situation has been protested in the strongest manner by our side, and it has been conveyed to Dutch authorities that there will be retaliation in the harshest ways … We will respond in kind to this unacceptable behaviour,” Yildirim said in a statement.

The Netherlands barred Turkish ministers from speaking in Rotterdam on Saturday in a row over Ankara’s political campaigning among Turkish emigres, leading President Tayyip Erdogan to brand its fellow NATO member a “Nazi remnant”.

The dispute escalated into a major diplomatic incident in the evening, as Turkey’s family minister was prevented by police from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. Hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags gathered outside, demanding to see the minister.

Dutch police used dogs and water cannon early on Sunday to disperse the crowd, which threw bottles and stones. Several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a Reuters witness said. They carried out charges on horseback, while officers advanced on foot with shields and armoured vans.

Less than a day after Dutch authorities prevented Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from flying to Rotterdam, Turkey’s family minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, said on Twitter she was being escorted back to Germany.

“The world must take a stance in the name of democracy against this fascist act! This behaviour against a female minister can never be accepted,” she said. The Rotterdam mayor confirmed she was being escorted by police to the German border.

The Dutch government, which stands to lose heavily to the anti-Islam party of Geert Wilders in elections next week, said it considered the visits undesirable and “the Netherlands could not cooperate in the public political campaigning of Turkish ministers in the Netherlands.”

The government said it saw the potential to import divisions into its own Turkish minority, which has both pro- and anti-Erdogan camps. Dutch politicians across the spectrum said they supported Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s decision to ban the visits.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said it did not want the Dutch ambassador to Ankara to return from leave “for some time”. Turkish authorities sealed off the Dutch embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul in apparent retaliation and hundreds gathered there for protests at the Dutch action.

Erdogan is looking to the large number of emigre Turks living in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, to help clinch victory next month in a referendum that would give the presidency sweeping new powers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will do everything possible to prevent Turkish political tensions spilling onto German soil. Four rallies in Austria and one in Switzerland have been cancelled due to the growing dispute.

Erdogan has cited domestic threats from Kurdish and Islamist militants and a July coup bid as cause to vote “yes” to his new powers. But he has also drawn on the emotionally charged row with Europe to portray Turkey as betrayed by allies while facing wars on its southern borders.

The Dutch government had banned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from attending a rally on Saturday in Rotterdam but he said he would fly there anyway, saying Europe must be rid of its “boss-like attitude”.

Cavusoglu, who was barred from a similar meeting in Hamburg last week but spoke instead from the Turkish consulate, accused the Dutch of treating the many Turkish citizens in the country like hostages, cutting them off from Ankara.

“If my going will increase tensions, let it be … I am a foreign minister and I can go wherever I want,” he added hours before his planned flight to Rotterdam was banned.

Cavusoglu threatened harsh economic and political sanctions if the Dutch refused him entry, and those threats proved decisive for the Netherlands government.

It cited public order and security concerns in withdrawing landing rights for Cavusoglu’s flight and said the threat of sanctions made the search for a reasonable solution impossible.

“This decision is a scandal and unacceptable in every way. It does not abide by diplomatic practices,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Istanbul on Saturday evening.

Dutch anti-Muslim politician Wilders, polling second ahead of Wednesday’s elections, said in a tweet on Saturday: “To all Turks in the Netherlands who agree with Erdogan: Go to Turkey and NEVER come back!!”

Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, said: “This morning on TV (the Turkish minister) made clear he was threatening the Netherlands with sanctions and we can never negotiate with the Turks under such threats. So we decided … in a conference call it was better for him not to come.”

Addressing a rally of supporters, Erdogan retaliated against the decision to prevent the Turkish foreign minister from visiting Rotterdam.

“Listen Netherlands, you’ll jump once, you’ll jump twice, but my people will thwart your game,” he said. “You can cancel our foreign minister’s flight as much as you want, but let’s see how your flights will come to Turkey now.”

“They don’t know diplomacy or politics. They are Nazi remnants. They are fascists,” he said.

Rutte called Erdogan’s reference to Nazis and Fascists “a crazy remark”. He added: “I understand they’re angry but this is of course way out of line”.

Erdogan chafes at Western criticism of his mass arrests and dismissals of people authorities believe were linked to a failed July attempt by the military to topple him.

He maintains it is clear the West begrudges him new powers and seeks to engineer a “no” vote in the referendum.

Barred from the Netherlands, Cavusoglu arrived in France on Saturday ahead of a planned speech to Turkish emigres in the northeastern city of Metz on Sunday, a Reuters witness said. Earlier, an official at the Moselle regional prefecture told Reuters there were currently no plans to prevent the meeting from going ahead.

A member of the Union of European Turkish Democrats also said on Saturday via a Facebook post that the Turkish foreign minister would no longer come to Switzerland for a planned event on Sunday after failing to find a suitable venue.

Zurich’s security department, which had unsuccessfully lobbied the federal government in Bern to ban Cavusoglu’s appearance, said in a statement on Saturday evening it was relieved the event had been cancelled.</s>ROTTERDAM, Netherlands —The escalating dispute between NATO allies Turkey and the Netherlands hit a new low Sunday, with a Turkish minister escorted out of the country less than a day after Turkey’s foreign minister was denied entry, prompting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call the Dutch “Nazi remnants.”

The diplomatic clash was over plans by Turkish government officials to campaign in the Netherlands for a referendum back home. Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya had arrived in the country from Germany but was prevented from entering Turkey’s diplomatic compound in Rotterdam, setting up a standoff with armed police. She was later sent under escort back to Germany.

As she was approaching the German border, Kaya wrote that “the whole world must take action against this fascist practice! Such a treatment against a woman minister cannot be accepted.”

The Dutch were equally angry and Prime Minister Mark Rutte called Erdogan’s Nazi comment “a crazy remark,” while Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the Turkish consul general was guilty of a “scandalous deception” after he allegedly denied that the minister was coming despite government warnings to stay away.

“He lied to us and didn’t tell the truth,” the mayor said. “The deception worsened when they drove in different columns to Rotterdam” to try to fool Dutch authorities.

Hundreds of pro-Turkey protesters scuffled with police into the night in Rotterdam.

The diplomatic clash with Kaya came after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was barred from landing in the Netherlands on Saturday and Turkish officials closed off the Dutch Embassy and called its ambassador no longer welcome.

The Dutch barred Cavusoglu from entering because of objections to his intention to attend a rally in Rotterdam for a referendum on constitutional reforms to expand Erdogan’s powers, which the Dutch see as a step backward from democracy. Turkish officials have been campaigning in various European cities with Turkish populations before the April 16 vote.

The Dutch government said it withdrew landing permission because of “risks to public order and security,” leading Cavusoglu to say: “So is the foreign minister of the Turkish republic a terrorist?”

Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul that the Dutch “do not know politics or international diplomacy.” He compared them to “Nazi remnants, they are fascists.”

Erdogan had earlier this month already compared German policies to “Nazi practices,” after German municipalities canceled several campaign events by Turkish officials last weekend.

He told a rally in Istanbul Saturday: “You can stop our foreign minister’s plane all you want, let’s see how your (diplomatic) planes will come to Turkey from now on.”

In the evening, a Turkish foreign ministry official who spoke on customary anonymity said the Dutch Embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul were closed off because of security reasons.

The official said entries and exits were closed to the two locations. Similar precautions were taken at the Dutch charge d’affaires’ house and the ambassador’s residence.

The Turkish foreign ministry also said that it doesn’t want to see the Dutch ambassador, who is out of the country, return to his post for some time because of the increasingly divisive dispute with the Netherlands.

In a written statement early Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country will strongly respond to the Dutch actions.

“There will be a stronger reprisal against the unacceptable treatment toward Turkey and ministers who have diplomatic immunity,” Yildirim said.

Cavusoglu said he arrived in Metz, France, late Saturday, where he was expected to address crowds on Sunday.

The diplomatic row comes at a time when relations between Turkey and the European Union, of which the Netherlands is a member, have been steadily worsening, especially in the wake of Erdogan’s actions since last year’s failed coup. More than 41,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 civil servants fired from their jobs.

Cavusoglu said that “unfortunately Europe and several countries in Europe, the Netherlands being in the first place, they are reminiscent of the Europe of World War II. The same racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, we see all the crimes against humanity in today’s politics.”

The dispute also comes just days before the Netherlands goes to the polls next Wednesday for the lower house of Parliament. The campaign has been dominated by issues of identity, with anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders set to make strong gains.

Earlier Saturday, Cavusoglu said “Wilders is racist, fascist, Nazi, like a Nazi.” Citing comments that Wilders wanted action against Muslims, Cavusoglu said: “What are you going to do? Are you going to kill them, burn them or what?”</s>ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he was forced to keep two Turkish ministers from traveling within the Netherlands and to bar them from campaigning among Turkish voters because Ankara had threatened sanctions against his government.

Rutte said Sunday, “We can never do business under this kind of blackmail.”

The prime minister says he was shocked to see one of the ministers try to get to a Rotterdam rally by car after the government had made clear she was not welcome.

Turkey’s minister of family affairs was escorted back to the German border after a long standoff outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.

Earlier, the Dutch government had withdrawn the landing rights of the plane carrying Turkey’s foreign minister.

The ministers planned to urge Turkish expatriates to back the referendum, which would expand the president’s powers.</s>Turkey labels Netherlands the 'capital of fascism' after ministers barred from speaking

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan says the Netherlands is acting like a "banana republic" and should face sanctions for barring Turkish ministers from speaking in Rotterdam, fuelling a row over Ankara's political campaigning abroad.

Mr Erdogan is looking to the large number of Turks living in Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, to help secure victory next month in a referendum that would give the presidency sweeping new powers.

In a speech in France, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the Netherlands as the "capital of fascism" after it joined other European countries in stopping Turkish politicians holding rallies, due to fears that tensions in Turkey might spill over into their expatriate communities.

The Dutch Government barred Mr Cavusoglu from flying to Rotterdam on Saturday (local time) and later stopped Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate there, before escorting her out of the country to Germany.

Dutch police used dogs and water cannons on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters waving Turkish flags outside the consulate in Rotterdam.

Some threw bottles and stones and several demonstrators were beaten by police with batons, a witness said. Mounted police officers charged the crowd.

The Dutch Government — set to lose about half its seats in elections this week, according to polls, as the anti-Islam party of Geert Wilders makes strong gains — said the visits were undesirable and it would not cooperate in their campaigning.

"I call on all international organisations in Europe and elsewhere to impose sanctions on the Netherlands," Mr Erdogan said, after his Prime Minister earlier said Turkey would retaliate in the "harshest ways", without specifying how.

A day earlier, Mr Erdogan described the Netherlands as "Nazi remnants" and returned to the theme on Sunday by saying, "Nazism is still widespread in the West", in what Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said were inflammatory remarks.

"We ended up in a totally unprecedented situation in which a NATO ally ... with whom we have historic ties, strong trade relations, is acting in a totally unacceptable, irresponsible manner," Mr Rutte said.

Rather than the Netherlands apologising for refusing the Turkish ministers entry, Turkey's President should apologise for comparing the Netherlands to fascists and Nazis, he said.

The row risked spreading on Sunday as Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen proposed postponing a planned visit by Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim this month due to the dispute.

The French foreign ministry urged calm and said there had been no reason to prohibit a meeting in France between Mr Cavusoglu and a local Turkish association.

Supporting Mr Rutte's decision to ban the visits, the Dutch Government said there was a risk of Turkish political divisions flowing over into its own Turkish minority, which has both pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.
Turkey bans the Dutch ambassador, Cornelis Van Rij, from returning to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ankara, and closes its airspace to Dutch diplomats in response to a Dutch ban on Turkish ministers speaking at pro-Erdoğan rallies.