A carnival in Switzerland has targeted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and promoted the "No" vote in the upcoming April 16 referendum in Turkey as a wave of anti-Turkey sentiment becomes a familiar theme in Europe.

Basel's annual Morgestraich event chose to slam President Erdoğan and his supporters, as lanterns depicting contoversial cartoons of Turkish people and Erdoğan paraded through the streets on the first week of March.

The insulting lanterns also featured United States President Donald Trump and Britain's former UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

The worrisome racist trends and ongoing anti-Turkey propaganda have been a source of concern for the Turkish community living in Europe. Turkish citizens say the combination of extreme right-wing parties and deteriorating security make Turks and other minorities more prone to hate attacks.

Turkey's relations with the EU has come under severe strained following series of bans in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria on Turkish officials' visits for the upcoming referendum campaign in Turkey.

On Saturday, the Dutch government denied landing permission to the plane carrying the Turkish foreign minister and blocked the family ministertarget="_blank"'>