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| Dutch police break up pro-Erdogan protest | Dutch police break up pro-Erdogan protest |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Dutch riot police have broken up a rally in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hours after a minister was refused entry to the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. | Dutch riot police have broken up a rally in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hours after a minister was refused entry to the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. |
| The Turkish minister has been sent to Germany, the city's mayor says. | |
| Police carried out mounted charges at the protesters, who had gathered outside the consulate as the diplomatic row between the two nations escalated. | Police carried out mounted charges at the protesters, who had gathered outside the consulate as the diplomatic row between the two nations escalated. |
| Protesters were reportedly throwing bottles and mobbing police cars. | Protesters were reportedly throwing bottles and mobbing police cars. |
| Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, Turkey's minister of family and social policies, had arrived by road on Saturday ahead of a rally planned to help harness the votes of Turks living in the Netherlands. | Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, Turkey's minister of family and social policies, had arrived by road on Saturday ahead of a rally planned to help harness the votes of Turks living in the Netherlands. |
| They will be voting in a referendum next month on whether to expand Mr Erdogan's powers. | They will be voting in a referendum next month on whether to expand Mr Erdogan's powers. |
| But when she arrived, Dutch authorities refused to allow her entry to the consulate, sparking a stream of angry tweets. | But when she arrived, Dutch authorities refused to allow her entry to the consulate, sparking a stream of angry tweets. |
| Ms Kaya has since left the Netherlands, the mayor of Rotterdam confirmed early on Sunday morning. | Ms Kaya has since left the Netherlands, the mayor of Rotterdam confirmed early on Sunday morning. |
| What is the row about? | |
| Turkey is holding a referendum on 16 April on whether to turn from a parliamentary to a presidential republic, more akin to the United States. | |
| If successful, it would give sweeping new powers to the president, allowing them to appoint ministers, prepare the budget, choose the majority of senior judges and enact certain laws by decree. | |
| What's more, the president alone would be able to announce a state of emergency and dismiss parliament. | |
| In order to get it passed, Mr Erdogan needs to get the votes of both those citizens living in, and out, of Turkey. | |
| There are 5.5 million Turks living outside the country, with 1.4 million eligible voters in Germany alone - and the Yes campaign are keen to get them on side. | |
| So a number of rallies have been planned for countries where large numbers of voters currently live, including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. | |
| However, Mr Erdogan's supporters have found themselves blocked from holding these rallies. | |
| Why are countries trying to prevent the rallies? | |
| Many of the countries have cited security concerns as the official reason the rallies have been banned or moved. | |
| Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Mr Erdogan was not welcome to hold rallies as this could increase friction and hinder integration. | |
| Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands asked Turkey to desist as they feared "compromised public order and security". | |
| However, many European nations have also expressed deep disquiet about Turkey's response to the July coup attempt and the country's perceived slide towards authoritarianism under President Erdogan. | |
| Germany in particular has been critical of the mass arrests and purges that followed - with nearly 100,000 civil servants removed from their posts. |