Turkey referendum: Clashes as Dutch saked minister

Dutch riot police have clashed with protesters in Rotterdam, amid a diplomatic row that saw a Turkish minister escorted
 out of the country.

Water cannon and police on horseback were used to
 disperse about 1,000 people outside the Turkish consulate.

The minister was trying to win support among expatriates
 for a referendum on expanding Turkish presidential powers.

The Dutch government says such rallies would stoke 
tensions days before the Netherlands' general election.

Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, Turkey's family minister, had 
arrived by road on Saturday ahead of her planned rally.

However, she was denied entry to the consulate in 
Rotterdam and taken to the German border by police.

Earlier, the Netherlands had barred Turkish Foreign
 Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from entering the country 
by plane. He has now travelled to Metz in northern France
 to address a rally there on Sunday.

In a Facebook post, Mr Rutte said attempts to find a "reasonable solution" to the countries' differences had
 proved "impossible", while dismissing Ms Kaya's arrival in Rotterdam as "irresponsible".

Ms Kaya said on Twitter: "The world must take a stance
 in the name of democracy against this fascist act! This behaviour against a female minister can never be accepted."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sunday that Turkey would respond in the "harshest ways" to this "unacceptable behaviour".

Ms Kaya later flew back to Istanbul.

After arriving she said: "We were subjected to rude and
 rough treatment... Treating a female minister this way is 
very ugly."

Protests were held on Sunday outside the Dutch consulate
 in Istanbul, where the Netherlands' flag was replaced with
 a Turkish one.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 
Saturday denounced the Dutch government as "Nazi
 remnants and fascists" for denying the rallies.

According to media,that what began as a diplomatic row 
has turned into a full-blown bilateral crisis.

Reports say the owner of a venue in the Swedish capital,
Stockholm, has now cancelled a pro-Erdogan rally on
 Sunday that was to have been attended by Turkey's agriculture minister.


Sweden's foreign ministry said it was not involved in the decision.

Turkey is holding a referendum on 16 April on whether
 to turn from a parliamentary to a presidential republic, 
more akin to the United States.

If successful, it would give sweeping new powers to the
president, allowing them to appoint ministers, prepare
 the budget, choose the majority of senior judges and enact certain laws by decree.

What's more, the president alone would be able to announce
 a state of emergency and dismiss parliament.

In order to get it passed, Mr Erdogan needs the votes of citizens living within Turkey and abroad.

There are 5.5 million Turks living outside the country, with
 1.4 million eligible voters in Germany alone - and the Yes campaign is keen to get them on side.

So a number of rallies have been planned for countries
 with large numbers of expat voters, including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

However, Mr Erdogan's supporters have found themselves

blocked from holding these rallies.


Many of the countries have cited security concerns as
 the official reason.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Mr Erdogan was not welcome to hold rallies as this could increase 
friction and hinder integration.

Mr Rutte said the Netherlands asked Turkey to desist as
 they feared "compromised public order and security".

The Dutch government is also facing a severe electoral challenge from the anti-Islam party of Geert Wilders in its election on Wednesday.

Many European nations have also expressed deep 
disquiet about Turkey's response to the July coup attempt
 and the country's perceived slide towards authoritarianism under President Erdogan.

Germany in particular has been critical of the mass arrests and purges that followed - with nearly 100,000 civil servants removed from their posts.