Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Bert_Koenders_2015_(1)
Bert Koenders (Photo: Rijksoverheid.nl/Wikimedia Commons) Bert Koenders (Photo: Rijksoverheid.nl/Wikimedia Commons)
Politics
Bert Koenders
Ebru Umar
EU membership
freedom of expression
freedom of press
insulting a friendly foreign head of state
insulting Erdogan
lower house of parliament
ministry of foreign affairs
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
travel advice
travel advice for Turkey
Turkey
Tweede Kamer
Tuesday, April 26, 2016 - 15:45
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Foreign Min. warns Dutch-Turkish against travel in Turkey

Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs is warning Dutch and Dutch-Turkish citizens against visiting Turkey for the time being. The Dutch government can not "guarantee" that they won't get in trouble in the country due to statements made on social media, he said in Parliament on Tuesday, the Volkskrant reports.  Koenders was answering questions in Parliament following the arrest of Dutch journalist Ebru Umar for insulting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She has since been released, but is not allowed to leave Turkey. The Minister emphasized that the government is working hard on her release. "We hope that she may soon return home. But I can not say much on the course of the legal process." He called it "nauseating" that Umar's home was broken into while she is stuck in Turkey. "I understand why there is great concern about this in Dutch society", Koenders said. He added that Turkey can forget about joining the European Union if there policy of press freedom does not improve. "Turkey will have to improve its behavior markedly", he said. "We made it clear that freedom of press and freedom of expression are non negotiable and that this behavior is not befitting a candidate for membership of the EU." Echoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, he denied allegations that the government is not working hard enough to get Umar out of Turkey.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Police use tear gas to stop protest in Eindhoven; Amsterdam police also resort to drastic measures
  • State visit of Surinamese President postponed
  • CDA, PvdA, and GroenLinks denounce Rutte's policies
  • slight increase in hospitalizations while seven-day average hits lowest number since December 4
  • Burning corona test site is a "big blow in our face"
  • Anti-Islam group Pegida may ignore rules and demonstrate in Eindhoven

Top Stories

  • Police use tear gas to stop protest in Eindhoven; Amsterdam police also resort to drastic measures
  • slight increase in hospitalizations while seven-day average hits lowest number since December 4
  • Police issued 3,600 fines during first night of curfew
  • Asian "El Chapo" arrested at Schiphol
  • Empty roads during curfew; meanwhile riots escalate in Urk
  • Coronavirus curfew begins in Netherlands; First curfew since WWII

© 2012-2020 NLTimes.nl, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact