The electorate always prefers original advocates of an idea
The general elections are to be held tomorrow in the Netherlands, which is likely to reveal the bitter truth once again.
Unfortunately, center parties in Europe have had difficulty in comprehending this truth. Making use of the growing Islamophobia and xenophobia across the EU in recent years, radical right-wing parties have increased their vote share with populist, Euroskeptic and xenophobic slogans by masterfully camouflaging their real aim of transforming Europe into a land cherishing the fascistic aspirations of Hitler and Mussolini. And this trend has inevitably influenced the ineffective governments of the EU. They are manipulating the failures of some European governments as a way to cope with economic problems and the refugee crisis.
The latest atrocities we witnessed in the Netherlands showed how successfully the same method is being implemented. Last weekend, the Dutch government fulfilled all the wishes of radical right-wing politician Geert Wilders, who is notorious for his enmity toward Muslims, Turks and EU values.
Wilders asked the Dutch government not to allow Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu into the Netherlands, and the Dutch government barred Çavuşoğlu's plane from landing. Wilders also asked the government not to allow Turkish politicians to hold meetings in the Netherlands, and the government complied with this wish also. They practiced restricting measures to such an extent that they disregarded all diplomatic and international rules in the most insensitive and misogynistic way as Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was deported as a result of their obnoxious actions. The so-called moderate government of the Netherlands displayed such heinous behavior that they disgraced their country in the eyes of the international public.
The friendly course of relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, which has continued for more than four centuries, has been deeply unsettled as a result of these latest incidents. Wilders is content with the result.
As of Sunday morning, he is underlining that their political demands are even being fulfilled by a government that is against them. He has a point. What the Dutch government did on Saturday pleased racists across Europe. The Islamophobics and Turkophobics are celebrating their "Rotterdam victory" now. On Wednesday, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the coalition constituting the government will see that what they did actually favored Wilders, since the electorate always prefers the original advocates of an idea. Why would they choose someone simply copying the policies of Wilders when they can have Wilders himself?
From now on, the Netherlands is the North Korea of the EU. The diplomacy and human rights violations they marked last week could only happen in North Korea. They lost a country that is an EU candidate and a NATO ally. The Turks living in the Netherlands have particularly lost their trust and faith in the country.
Such mistakes are unfortunately occurring in other EU countries. In France, the radical right-wing has a chance to pass the first round as the second party in the elections to be held in May. In Germany, if the radical right Alternative for Germany (AfD) enters the Bundestag and forms the third biggest parliamentary group after the September elections, it will owe its success to the center parties' imitation of their discourse and others of their kind.
The anti-democratic measures taken in some EU countries to bar the meetings organized to apprise the public about the upcoming referendum in Turkey favor the radical right wing.
For years, the Greek, French, Italian and Spanish people living in Germany could take part in the campaign meetings organized in Germany pertinent to the elections in these countries. The parliament members and ministers of these countries could freely deliver speeches at these organizations and no one was bothered. It was the same for Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Austria.
So why do they strongly object to Turkish organizations now?
For weeks now, deputies and politicians from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who act as spokespersons for the outlawed PKK, have been organizing various meetings in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands to endorse "no" votes in the upcoming referendum. No one has so far been barred from these meetings.
Yet Turkish ministers and parliament members have been barred from informing their citizens living in Europe by violent North Korea-esque methods.
Had they allowed the meetings, they would not have drawn any public attention. But now, the international public sarcastically suggests that NATO allies are fighting each other.
Germany must have realized this fact as there has been some positive developments. On Sunday, on the German TV station ARD, Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Peter Altmaier, the chief of Staff of the German Chancellery, discussed the matter as part of an effort to end the crisis. It is thought in Germany that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder might act as a mediator to resolve the crisis.
No problems arose in last weekend's meetings where ministers were present.
While Germany has exerted efforts to resolve the problem, countries including the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark must keep away from copying the ill practices that originated in Germany. The persistence of this situation will undermine trust and credibility for everyone apart from the European right wing.
Unfortunately, center parties in Europe have had difficulty in comprehending this truth. Making use of the growing Islamophobia and xenophobia across the EU in recent years, radical right-wing parties have increased their vote share with populist, Euroskeptic and xenophobic slogans by masterfully camouflaging their real aim of transforming Europe into a land cherishing the fascistic aspirations of Hitler and Mussolini. And this trend has inevitably influenced the ineffective governments of the EU. They are manipulating the failures of some European governments as a way to cope with economic problems and the refugee crisis.
The latest atrocities we witnessed in the Netherlands showed how successfully the same method is being implemented. Last weekend, the Dutch government fulfilled all the wishes of radical right-wing politician Geert Wilders, who is notorious for his enmity toward Muslims, Turks and EU values.
Wilders asked the Dutch government not to allow Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu into the Netherlands, and the Dutch government barred Çavuşoğlu's plane from landing. Wilders also asked the government not to allow Turkish politicians to hold meetings in the Netherlands, and the government complied with this wish also. They practiced restricting measures to such an extent that they disregarded all diplomatic and international rules in the most insensitive and misogynistic way as Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was deported as a result of their obnoxious actions. The so-called moderate government of the Netherlands displayed such heinous behavior that they disgraced their country in the eyes of the international public.
The friendly course of relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, which has continued for more than four centuries, has been deeply unsettled as a result of these latest incidents. Wilders is content with the result.
As of Sunday morning, he is underlining that their political demands are even being fulfilled by a government that is against them. He has a point. What the Dutch government did on Saturday pleased racists across Europe. The Islamophobics and Turkophobics are celebrating their "Rotterdam victory" now. On Wednesday, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the coalition constituting the government will see that what they did actually favored Wilders, since the electorate always prefers the original advocates of an idea. Why would they choose someone simply copying the policies of Wilders when they can have Wilders himself?
From now on, the Netherlands is the North Korea of the EU. The diplomacy and human rights violations they marked last week could only happen in North Korea. They lost a country that is an EU candidate and a NATO ally. The Turks living in the Netherlands have particularly lost their trust and faith in the country.
Such mistakes are unfortunately occurring in other EU countries. In France, the radical right-wing has a chance to pass the first round as the second party in the elections to be held in May. In Germany, if the radical right Alternative for Germany (AfD) enters the Bundestag and forms the third biggest parliamentary group after the September elections, it will owe its success to the center parties' imitation of their discourse and others of their kind.
The anti-democratic measures taken in some EU countries to bar the meetings organized to apprise the public about the upcoming referendum in Turkey favor the radical right wing.
For years, the Greek, French, Italian and Spanish people living in Germany could take part in the campaign meetings organized in Germany pertinent to the elections in these countries. The parliament members and ministers of these countries could freely deliver speeches at these organizations and no one was bothered. It was the same for Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Austria.
So why do they strongly object to Turkish organizations now?
For weeks now, deputies and politicians from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who act as spokespersons for the outlawed PKK, have been organizing various meetings in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands to endorse "no" votes in the upcoming referendum. No one has so far been barred from these meetings.
Yet Turkish ministers and parliament members have been barred from informing their citizens living in Europe by violent North Korea-esque methods.
Had they allowed the meetings, they would not have drawn any public attention. But now, the international public sarcastically suggests that NATO allies are fighting each other.
Germany must have realized this fact as there has been some positive developments. On Sunday, on the German TV station ARD, Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Peter Altmaier, the chief of Staff of the German Chancellery, discussed the matter as part of an effort to end the crisis. It is thought in Germany that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder might act as a mediator to resolve the crisis.
No problems arose in last weekend's meetings where ministers were present.
While Germany has exerted efforts to resolve the problem, countries including the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark must keep away from copying the ill practices that originated in Germany. The persistence of this situation will undermine trust and credibility for everyone apart from the European right wing.