A crackdown on Turkish citizens living in Austria has intensified after a heated countrywide debate that surfaced following the April 16 constitutional referendum in Turkey about those holding dual passports.The Austrian government's harsh attitude toward Turkish citizens started to dominate the agenda in the country after the crucial referendum in Turkey that resulted in a victory for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Having seen that nearly 75 percent of the Austrian-Turks voted in favor of the constitutional changes, the Austrian government has knuckled down to take action.Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka stoked the flames of this controversial discussion shortly after the April 16 referendum, saying that those illegally holding dual passports should be fined 5,000 euros.Nearly 108,000 Turkish citizens were eligible to cast their votes. With a turnout rate of 48.59 percent, more than 52,000 people opted to partake in the referendum. The Austrian government has been in pursuit of illegal dual passport holders among the aforementioned 108,000 Turks.One is not allowed to hold dual passports in Austria. However, if a person has acquired the second citizenship through one's parents or the birthplace country principle, it is possible.As the Austrian government seeks to find a way to discover how many people have been illegally holding dual passports for years, Turkish people living in the country are under pressure."There is already unrest here in the Turkish community," Klaus Jurgens, an Austrian political analyst currently based in Austria with 12 years of experience in Turkey, told Daily Sabah.Jurgens drew attention to the danger of the Austrian government obtaining the list of Austrian-Turkish voters. "It is about the official list of Turkish voters on April 16. Then, theoretically, a city administration could investigate whether a person really is Austrian or was neutralized."Another Austrian journalist, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the Turkish community in Austria has been under pressure since the April 16 referendum. Stressing that the Austrian-Turks never had such an issue until after the referendum, the journalist said the situation has been tense for quite a while.The question of why the Austrian government has suddenly brought the issue to the agenda remains unclear. Austrian journalists pointed to political gains as the possible answer. "I would designate this debate about the dual citizenship not just as cheap populism as some do but as a coolly calculated punishment against the majority of Turkish voters who voted 'yes' in Austria," Jurgens said.The anonymous journalist hinted at the possibility of political gains as well. Speaking of the rising far-right in Austria, the journalist said the debate has been politically motivated.Jurgens contended that such discussions and debates would not have taken place had the "no" votes prevailed on April 16."If the 'no' voters had won here in Austria, this debate about dual citizenship would not have flared up again," he asserted.Austrian far-right politicians have been profiting from the referendum hype as well. The leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs or FPÖ), Heinz-Christian Strache, called on "yes" voters in late April to go back to Turkey. "So do yourself and your president a favor, and return to your country,"Strache said.Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik has had his say about Austrian politicians as well. Accusing the EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn of acting like an Austrian politician, Çelik said in November 2016 that Hahn puts hurdles in the way of the EU's enlargement.Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern has been a staunch anti-Turkey figure as well. He called for an EU-wide ban on election campaign appearances by Turkish politicians during the referendum campaigning period in Turkey.Kern in August 2016 also called accession talks with Turkey a "diplomatic fiction" and said he wanted the EU leaders to reconsider their approach with regards to Ankara.In addition, Kern was disturbed to see the support of Turks for their president and Turkey following the July 15 defeated coup.In his remarks following the coup attempt, Kern had criticized anti-coup protests by Turks in Austria and called them "radical." Turkish Foreign Minister Çavusoğlu said at the time that this particular remark of Kern was even "uglier than" his comment about halting Turkey's EU accession process.In the face of the heated debate in the country and claims about a politically-motivated clampdown on the Turkish community in Austria, Daily Sabah reached out to the Austrian Embassy in Ankara. However, the Embassy has not provided Daily Sabah with any answers or information with regards to the aforementioned issues.