Turkey FM expects religious wars in Europe

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – In his first comments on the results of general elections in the Netherlands, Turkey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said he expected religious wars to break out in Europe.

Cavusoglu’s remarks follow his country’s diplomatic crisis with the Netherlands last week when the former refused to allow him and another Turkish minister to hold rallies in Dutch cities for an April referendum on empowering President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking to reporters in the Turkish city of Antalya, Cavusoglu claimed there was “no difference between Dutch social democrats and the fascist Wilders.”

He was referring to Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s victorious People’s Party (VVD) and the anti-Islam opposition leader Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) respectively.

The liberal VVD got 33 seats in the Wednesday elections, as the Dutch nationalist, anti-immigration PVV came second with 20 seats.

Other parties including the Christian Democrats (CDA) and Liberal progressives (D66) each won 19 seats in the Dutch Parliament, paving the way for a Rutte-led coalition.

“Religious wars will soon start in Europe. They will,” Cavusoglu who represents a once hopeful European Union (EU) candidate country professed.

He went on reminding of a series of decades-long wars between Protestants and Catholics in the 17th century, reported privately-owned Dogan news agency.

“Let them [Europeans] read Europe’s history. If they have a shred of shame, they won’t be able to look at each other’s face,” he continued.

Last week, Erdogan accused the Netherlands of Nazism and Fascism for not allowing Turkish ministers’ election propaganda on their soil.

In return, Rutte said Turkey’s leader “crossed the line” by likening his country to the Nazis who occupied and bombed Dutch cities during World War II.

Wilders, on his part, said Erdogan was an “Islamofascist,” and called on Dutch Turks who protested and clashed with police in Rotterdam to go back to Turkey.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany