Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders today denounced plans by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to attend a Rotterdam rally in support of a high-stakes Turkish referendum.
"They should not come and interfere here with our domestic problems," Wilders told reporters, referring to next Saturday's rally backing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Dutch officials, including Prime Minister Mark Rutte, have already condemned the plans to hold the demonstration organised by some of the port city's sizeable Turkish community.
It comes as campaigning is in full swing in The Netherlands for Dutch general elections here due on March 15.
"If I would be prime minister today I would declare -- until at least the half of April when they have the referendum -- I would call the whole cabinet of Turkey persona non-grata for a month or two, not allowing them to come here," Wilders said, speaking in English.
Rutte on Friday said the government had received official notification from Turkey that a campaign event ahead of the Turkish referendum in April was being organised in The Netherlands.
He called the idea "undesirable" and said the Dutch government would not cooperate.
"We believe that Dutch public space is not the place to hold a political campaign for another country," Rutte said on his Facebook page.
A Turkish-Dutch political association said Friday that Cavusoglu would attend the rally, hoping to persuade some hundreds of thousands of Turkish-origin citizens to vote "yes" in the April 16 referendum aimed at boosting Erdogan's powers.
German towns last week banned three similar rallies which had been due to be attended by Turkish ministers, provoking anger from Ankara.
The Turkish public will decide whether to approve constitutional changes that will expand the role of the head of state and remove the office of the premier.
Wilders, who has gained support for his anti-Islam and anti-immigration stand is running neck-and-neck in the polls with Rutte ahead of the March elections. He slammed his rival for what he called a "weak reaction".
"Coming here to advocate (for) the Turkish constitution will only strengthen the Islamo-facist leader Erdogan of Turkey, more than Dutch parliament," he said.
Wilders was meeting with international press in Amsterdam, ahead of a rival day of "Solidarity with Muslims" planned later today in the capital city.
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