Erdogan Invokes Srebrenica Massacre as Dutch Crisis Deepens
- Turkish president ups criticism in spat over ministers’ access
- Dutch PM Rutte says comments ‘hysterical’ and ‘unbelievable’
Dutch Election Adds New Twist in Turkey Dispute
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply escalated a diplomatic confrontation with the Netherlands, blaming the nation’s “corrupt” character for the 1995 massacre of thousands of Bosnians under the watch of a Dutch contingent of peacekeepers.
“We know the Dutch from the Srebrenica massacre. We know how their character is corrupt from the massacre of 8,000 Bosnians,” Erdogan said on Tuesday in a televised speech in Ankara. He spoke a day after Turkey announced it would bar the Dutch ambassador from re-entering the country in retaliation for the Netherlands’ decision to deny entry to Turkish ministers campaigning to expand Erdogan’s powers.