![Leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey, Kemal Kilicdaroglu delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the Sakirpasa Neighborhood Mega Sports Complex in Adana, Turkey on March 12, 2017 [Sebahatdin Zeyrek / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/20170312_2_22359044_19787710.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader called on the Turkish government to suspend ties with the Netherlands, a day after a row over a ban on Turkish ministers by the European country.
Speaking at a rally in Turkey’s southern Adana province earlier today, CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu pledged that his party “will give every kind of support” to the Turkish government, and urged the authorities to suspect diplomatic ties with the Netherlands.
Kilicdaroglu said:
If a minister of the Republic of Turkey is not allowed to enter her own consulate or embassy, please suspend [Turkey’s] relations with the Netherlands.
On Saturday night, Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya was blocked from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam and was escorted to Germany by Dutch police after being on the receiving end of “rough” treatment, according to the minister.
Read: Netherlands bars female family minister from Turkey’s consulate as row escalates
In remarks made after returning to Istanbul today, Kaya said she suffered “harsh and rude treatment” at the hands of Dutch authorities.
Earlier on Saturday, the Dutch government also cancelled Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s flight permit and prevented him from landing, which triggered a row between the two countries.
The ministers were due to meet Turkish residents living in Holland ahead of the 16 April referendum on constitutional reforms in Turkey.
While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are campaign for a “Yes” vote to change Turkey into a presidential democracy similar to the United States, the CHP and other opposition parties are campaigning for “No”, which makes Kilicdaroglu’s comments all the more weighty.