Turkish Youth angered by Deputy PM's remarks about ISIS

A number of Turkish-Dutch young people are delivering a message to Minister Lodewijk Asscher (Deputy Prime Minister and Social Affairs) this afternoon stating that he should be more aware of the impact of his words.

They are shocked by Asscher's reaction to a study into whether Turkish youth support ISIS. Two weeks ago Asscher said that the results of the study are very disturbing. 80 percent of the Turkish-Dutch young people who were questioned by Motivaction said that they support violent groups such as the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS).

The young people who have written to Asscher are politically active for a number of parties in Dutch municipalities. According to them the study is wrong. They also think that Asscher reacted too harshly.

Cemil Yilmaz, who speaks on their behalf, says that Asscher must be aware of the impact of his words. "The impact should not be underestimated. That is the signal we want to pass on, because there is a lot of positive feedback from the Turkish-Dutch community."

The Turkish-Dutch youth have set up an online petition that has thus far been signed 2,341 times.