The Dutch government decided on Monday to “temporarily close” the consulate general of the Netherlands in Istanbul for fear that the vandalism of a copy of the Koran in The Hague “generates anti-Western sentiments” and provokes protests or attacks against Western targets.
In a warning, the Dutch Foreign Ministry explained that recent far-right actions in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, where copies of the Koran were burned or vandalized, “may foster anti-Western sentiments” and there is “a heightened threat of a attack against Western targets, diplomatic missions and places of worship, particularly in Istanbul”.
In this context, it was decided to temporarily and immediately close to the public the general consulate of the Netherlands in Istanbul for security reasons, and consular services are taken care of digitally or physically by the embassy in Ankara.
However, the Foreign Office notes that it has “no indication that there is a threat to individual Dutch travellers” who are in Turkey for tourism or work.
Travel warnings for several countries have also been adjusted: there is a warning for Afghanistan for possible attacks on Dutch non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and another warning for Tanzania for “an increased terrorist threat in places where many Western tourists go.”
On January 22, a leader of the anti-Muslim Pegida movement, Edwin Wagensveld, vandalized a copy of the Quran in front of the Dutch parliament in The Hague, a day after another right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish embassy in Sweden, which also sparked diplomatic protests and criticism from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Since then, several Muslim-majority countries have protested against the Netherlands, while Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia have summoned the Dutch ambassador to their countries to protest against the vandalism of the Islamic holy book in The Hague, the Foreign Ministry confirmed today. although, with the exception of Ankara, the other two countries have not made the diplomatic protest public.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has already said that he understands that vandalizing the Koran could be perceived as offensive or provocative, but stressed the importance of freedom of expression, “and that freedom also applies to an opinion Unwanted”.
Source: TSF
