Wilders outraged Muslims by comparing the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and calling for an end to Muslim immigration to the Netherlands. Ankara has said Wilders’ presence among the delegation would overshadow the visit and that would be unfair for positive Turkish-Dutch relations.
The issue was put to a vote in the Dutch parliament on Wednesday, and all parties opted to cancel the visit, which was scheduled for January, Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad reported.
“We deeply regret the fact that this will make an effective dialogue impossible, but if the Turkish government refuses to meet with us, the most essential parts of our schedule will not be able to go ahead,” Harm Evert Waalkens, leader of the delegation, was quoted as saying.
In response to criticism on the issue by a member of Wilders’ party at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, State Minister and Turkey’s chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış said in Brussels on Thursday: “Wilders has freedom of expression. I have the right not to listen to those who confuse criticism and insult.”
