Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reminded the Amsterdam on the role played by the Dutch peacekeepers in the massacre in Srebrenica. The words of the Turkish leader is quoted by The Daily Sabah.
“The Netherlands has not surprised us, we knew that the Dutch have problems with morality, the level of civility and manners, — Erdogan said. We found out due to the role they played during the genocide in Srebrenica”. The Turkish leader has hinted at the indecisive actions of the Dutch peacekeepers in 1995, when they are being deployed in declared “security zone” Srebrenica, did not resist the advancing Serbian troops, allowing them to occupy the city.
“No one should try to teach us lessons of morality — especially those whose hands are stained with blood, concluded Erdogan. — Carrying out state terror against our politicians, the Netherlands has harmed the EU and its values”.
The crisis in relations between the two countries began on March 11, when the Netherlands refused to accept the plane, the foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu, who had intended to speak at the rally of the Turkish community in Rotterdam, and declared persona non grata by the Turkish Minister for family and social policy Fatma Betul saillant Kaya. This sparked riots in Rotterdam, to suppress which the Dutch authorities were forced to use special forces.
The massacre in Srebrenica happened in 1995. Serbian forces blocked the declared “security zone” of the city, took it and is believed to have destroyed up to eight thousand adult men from among the Bosnian Muslims, leaving the women and children. Dutch peacekeepers who were supposed to ensure the safety of Srebrenica and refused to fight. In 2007, the international Tribunal has described the incident of mass killing as genocide.