The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that a diplomat working in the Istanbul consulate has been pulled out of the country amid accusations that he engaged in spying activities in Turkey.

Turkish media outlets reported Sunday that an investigation had been launched into an alleged Dutch spy who security forces arrested Monday while carrying out intelligence operations in Turkey.

The Dutch ministry stated that the diplomat left Turkey on security concerns.

The diplomat in question, identified as A.Z., reportedly was working for Dutch military intelligence and has long been monitored by Ankara, the Sabah daily reported. A.Z. is reported to have entered Turkey on a diplomatic passport, allegedly tasked with forging documents and spreading false information on Turkey's support for Daesh.

According to the article, the alleged spy served in Afghanistan and participated in meetings held by opposition groups in Turkey, introducing himself as an employee of the Dutch Defense Ministry. A Haber television reported that an investigation has been launched into the suspect.

Quoting an unidentified Turkish official, Al Jazeera reported that the diplomat was exposed by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) while working to gather information about Operation Olive Branch against PKK-linked People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists in northwestern Syria's Afrin. The official added that he was allowed to leave the country after enough evidence had been collected.

Relations between Turkey and the Netherlands soured prior to the Dutch general elections on March 14, 2017.

The Netherlands declined a landing permit to a plane carrying Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who was scheduled to speak at a meeting in Rotterdam ahead of the Turkish constitutional reform referendum on April 16, 2017. The authorities also barred Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam. She was forced to remain in her vehicle for hours before being deported to Germany.

The incidents drew severe criticism from Ankara, and the Foreign Ministry asked the off-duty Dutch ambassador in Ankara, who was on leave, not to return "for a while." Nearly a year later, the Dutch Foreign Ministry on Monday said it had formally withdrawn its ambassador to Turkey.

In February, the Dutch parliament voted to recognize the 1915 events in World War I – large scale atrocities between Ottoman and Russian troops, and between their allied Kurdish and Armenian militia – as genocide. </s> Turkish media reported that an investigation has been launched into an alleged Dutch spy who security forces arrested Monday while carrying out intelligence operations in Turkey.

The suspect, A.Z., reportedly was working for Dutch military intelligence and has long been monitored by Ankara, the Sabah daily reported. A.Z. is reported to have entered Turkey on a diplomatic passport allegedly tasked with forging documents and spreading false information on Turkey's support for Daesh.

According to the article, the alleged spy served in Afghanistan and participated in meetings held by opposition groups in Turkey, introduced himself as an employee of the Dutch Defense Ministry. A Haber television reported that an investigation has been launched into the suspect.

Relations between Turkey and the Netherlands soured prior to the Dutch general elections on March 14, 2017.

The Netherlands declined a landing permit to a plane carrying Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who was scheduled to speak at a meeting in Rotterdam. The authorities also barred Family Minister, Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam. She was forced to remain in her vehicle for hours before being deported to Germany.

The incidents drew severe criticism from Ankara and the Foreign Ministry asked the off-duty Dutch ambassador in Ankara, who was on leave, not to return "for a while." Nearly a year later, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said it had formally withdrawn its ambassador to Turkey. </s> The Netherlands has pulled one if its diplomats out of Turkey on Monday after Turkish media reported that the consulate employee was exposed during spying activities.

The Dutch foreign ministry said the diplomat, who worked at the Dutch consulate in Istanbul, left Turkey out of concerns for his safety.

"For his own safety - due to the publicity - the official in question left Turkey on Monday. He worked at the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul, and was also responsible for regional activities," the ministry said in a statement.

A Turkish official told Al Jazeera that the diplomat was exposed by the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, while he was engaged in intelligence activities.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that the diplomat was working to gather information on Turkey's military operation in the northwestern Syrian region of Afrin.

"The Turkish authorities did not make a diplomatic move to deport the Dutch diplomat after the evidence was gathered and allowed him to leave the country," he said.

Several private Turkish media networks have been running footage, allegedly showing the diplomat during meetings with sources in Istanbul.

Al Jazeera contacted the Dutch authorities for comment but did not get a reaction on the spying claims at the time of publication.

Turkish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters started the military operation into Afrin in late January to remove a US-backed Kurdish militia - known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) - near its border. Ankara describes the armed group as "terrorists".

Relations between Ankara and the Netherlands have been tense in recent months.

Turkey slammed the Dutch parliament's vote to recognise the World War I killings of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as "genocide" last month.

Relations hit another low in March 2017 when the Netherlands, among other European countries, banned Turkish ministers from addressing immigrants and expatriates in rallies within its borders for a referendum that later changed Turkey's parliamentary system to an executive presidency.

Dutch authorities actively intervened to prevent a Turkish minister from reaching a consulate in the country to address Turks living there, leading to a diplomatic crisis. </s> ROTTERDAM, Netherlands —The escalating dispute between NATO allies Turkey and the Netherlands hit a new low Sunday, with a Turkish minister escorted out of the country less than a day after Turkey’s foreign minister was denied entry, prompting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call the Dutch “Nazi remnants.”

The diplomatic clash was over plans by Turkish government officials to campaign in the Netherlands for a referendum back home. Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya had arrived in the country from Germany but was prevented from entering Turkey’s diplomatic compound in Rotterdam, setting up a standoff with armed police. She was later sent under escort back to Germany.

As she was approaching the German border, Kaya wrote that “the whole world must take action against this fascist practice! Such a treatment against a woman minister cannot be accepted.”

The Dutch were equally angry and Prime Minister Mark Rutte called Erdogan’s Nazi comment “a crazy remark,” while Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said the Turkish consul general was guilty of a “scandalous deception” after he allegedly denied that the minister was coming despite government warnings to stay away.

“He lied to us and didn’t tell the truth,” the mayor said. “The deception worsened when they drove in different columns to Rotterdam” to try to fool Dutch authorities.

Hundreds of pro-Turkey protesters scuffled with police into the night in Rotterdam.

The diplomatic clash with Kaya came after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was barred from landing in the Netherlands on Saturday and Turkish officials closed off the Dutch Embassy and called its ambassador no longer welcome.

The Dutch barred Cavusoglu from entering because of objections to his intention to attend a rally in Rotterdam for a referendum on constitutional reforms to expand Erdogan’s powers, which the Dutch see as a step backward from democracy. Turkish officials have been campaigning in various European cities with Turkish populations before the April 16 vote.

The Dutch government said it withdrew landing permission because of “risks to public order and security,” leading Cavusoglu to say: “So is the foreign minister of the Turkish republic a terrorist?”

Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul that the Dutch “do not know politics or international diplomacy.” He compared them to “Nazi remnants, they are fascists.”

Erdogan had earlier this month already compared German policies to “Nazi practices,” after German municipalities canceled several campaign events by Turkish officials last weekend.

He told a rally in Istanbul Saturday: “You can stop our foreign minister’s plane all you want, let’s see how your (diplomatic) planes will come to Turkey from now on.”

In the evening, a Turkish foreign ministry official who spoke on customary anonymity said the Dutch Embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul were closed off because of security reasons.

The official said entries and exits were closed to the two locations. Similar precautions were taken at the Dutch charge d’affaires’ house and the ambassador’s residence.

The Turkish foreign ministry also said that it doesn’t want to see the Dutch ambassador, who is out of the country, return to his post for some time because of the increasingly divisive dispute with the Netherlands.

In a written statement early Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country will strongly respond to the Dutch actions.

“There will be a stronger reprisal against the unacceptable treatment toward Turkey and ministers who have diplomatic immunity,” Yildirim said.

Cavusoglu said he arrived in Metz, France, late Saturday, where he was expected to address crowds on Sunday.

The diplomatic row comes at a time when relations between Turkey and the European Union, of which the Netherlands is a member, have been steadily worsening, especially in the wake of Erdogan’s actions since last year’s failed coup. More than 41,000 people have been arrested and 100,000 civil servants fired from their jobs.

Cavusoglu said that “unfortunately Europe and several countries in Europe, the Netherlands being in the first place, they are reminiscent of the Europe of World War II. The same racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, we see all the crimes against humanity in today’s politics.”

The dispute also comes just days before the Netherlands goes to the polls next Wednesday for the lower house of Parliament. The campaign has been dominated by issues of identity, with anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders set to make strong gains.

Earlier Saturday, Cavusoglu said “Wilders is racist, fascist, Nazi, like a Nazi.” Citing comments that Wilders wanted action against Muslims, Cavusoglu said: “What are you going to do? Are you going to kill them, burn them or what?” </s> The media outlet stated, citing the Dutch Foreign Ministry, that the diplomat was attached to the consulate in Istanbul and was engaged in regional operations.

On Monday, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported that a man working for Dutch military intelligence was arrested. According to the report, the man in question had arrived in Turkey with a diplomatic passport and was tasked with spreading false information about Turkish support of the Daesh* terrorist group. The publication said that the alleged spy had been monitored for some time before the arrest that took place on Monday.

READ MORE: Netherlands Withdraws Ambassador From Turkey Amid Failure to Normalize Ties

Dutch-Turkish relations have been worsening since Amsterdam refused entry to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, who were on their way to participate in Turkish rallies to promote Ankara's constitutional referendum, last year.

The partnership has also been strained by Amsterdam's recognition of the Armenian genocide.

In February, the Netherlands decided to formally withdraw its ambassador from Ankara.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia </s> The Latest on Dutch barring Turkish foreign minister (all times local):

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says his country will strongly respond to Dutch authorities' "unacceptable treatment" toward Turkish ministers who were prevented from addressing Turkish citizens in the Netherlands.

In a written statement released early on Sunday, Yildirim also urged Turkish nationals living in Europe to remain calm and not fall for provocations. He also asked them to cast their votes in the April 16 referendum saying it would be best response to the European nations.

He said: "There will be a stronger reprisal against the unacceptable treatment toward Turkey and ministers who have diplomatic immunity."

Yildirim added: "Our so-called European friends who speak of democracy, freedom of expression and human rights have failed their class."

Turkey's family affairs minister says Dutch authorities are escorting her to the border with Germany in a manner that "tramples on all democratic and human values."

Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya said through her twitter account early on Sunday that she was being taken to the town of Nijmegen, near the border with Germany, adding that she condemned the Dutch authorities' action in "the name of all of our citizens."

Kaya wrote: "the whole world must take action against this fascist practice! Such a treatment against a woman minister cannot be accepted."

Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb said early Sunday that the Turkish family affairs minister is being escorted back to the German border from where she came after she tried to reach the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam against the wishes of the Dutch government.

"The minister is on her way to Germany," Aboutaleb said after an extraordinary standoff between a minister from a NATO ally and an overwhelming police force.

"She was called an unwanted foreigner by the government and the rules say you send someone back to the country she came from," he said.

Hundreds of pro-Turkey protesters scuffled with police as authorities tried to end a demonstration at the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam, where a Turkish minister fruitlessly tried to enter the compound.

At one stage, protesters were throwing bottles and mobbing police vehicles as they moved away from the consulate in central Rotterdam. But soon, police charged on horseback and moved forward with batons wielding.

It was unclear if people were detained or injured.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he has called the European Union commission's vice-president asking that he urge the Dutch prime minister to put an end to the "disgrace" against Turkish ministers who have been barred from attending rallies.

In a telephone interview with A Haber television, Cavusoglu said he told Frans Timmermans — a former Dutch politician — that the events were "getting out of control."

Cavusoglu said Turkey did not wish to escalate tensions but that Ankara "would take all necessary measures" against the Netherlands.

Foreign Ministry officials said Cavusoglu held three separate conversations with Timmermans and also spoke with the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

Separately, Cavusoglu told state-run TRT television that European nations were obstructing campaigning for a "yes" vote in an upcoming referendum on expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's power because they feared the emergence of a "stable, free and independent Turkey."

The mayor of Rotterdam issued an emergency order late Saturday in an attempt to contain a pro-Turkish demonstration outside the consulate which has turned into a flashpoint of the worsening relations between the Netherlands and Turkey.

Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said he needed special powers to assure security throughout the center of the city fearing that more people would join the demonstration and there was "serious concern" that riots might ensue.

Under the powers, it is easier for authorities to keep people away from diplomatic compounds like the consulate.

Dutch authorities told the Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya that she should take "the shortest way to Germany" where she came from as she sought to enter her consulate in Rotterdam.

TV video on the NOS network showed the standoff between the ministerial convoy and the Rotterdam police, which was translated between an officer and the minister. After being told to return with her convoy, Kaya retorted sharply, saying "I will go to the consulate building. That is a building belonging to my country and I am a minister of that country."

She continued that "there is no such international practice. I don't accept that decision, I reject it and I won't return to Germany."

Close to the consulate, a protest of about 1,000 pro-Turkish demonstrators continued even though the authorities were making slow protest in driving them away.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered near the Dutch Embassy in the Turkish capital in Ankara shouting slogans against the Netherlands for barring Turkish ministers from addressing rallies there.

Police sealed off the entrance to Holland Street, where the embassy is located. Still, around 500 people waived Turkish and Ottoman flags near the embassy building.

State-run TRT television said some protesters hurled eggs toward the building but were warned to keep the protest peaceful.

Turkey's foreign minister has arrived in France for a political rally, after being barred from the Netherlands amid growing diplomatic tensions between Turkey and EU nations.

Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted Saturday night that he is in the eastern French city of Metz "to have a meeting with our Consuls General and to gather with our citizens."

French officials said a rally by Cavusoglu planned for Sunday with the local Turkish population has been authorized and will be allowed to take place unless it represents a threat to public order.

Dutch authorities refused to allow Cavusoglu to land in Rotterdam because of objections to his intention to rally for a Turkish referendum on constitutional reforms to expand presidential powers, which the Dutch see as a step backward from democracy.

Turkey's deputy prime minister says that Dutch authorities are preventing the Turkish minister for family affairs from reaching the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam or joining Turkish protesters there.

Numan Kurtulmus accused the Dutch authorities of "shameless and rude" behavior, adding that Ankara considers the moves against Minister of Family and Social Policies Betul Sayan Kaya as acts against "the whole of Turkey."

Kurtulmus told CNN-Turk television: "let's hope they soon return to their senses."

He predicted that the Dutch government would feel "shame" and apologize to Turkey.

A group of protesters has gathered outside the Dutch consulate, located on the main pedestrian thoroughfare in Istanbul, singing the Turkish national anthem and chanting slogans.

Footage from private Dogan news agency showed special operations and riot police outside the consulate, which has been closed off due to security reasons.

The crowd, waving Turkish flags, chanted slogans Saturday night that included "Netherlands, don't be surprised and don't test our patience," ''God is great," ''Barbarian Europe" and "Dictator Netherlands will pay."

A Turkish foreign ministry official says that access to and from the Dutch Embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul has been closed off for security reasons.

The official said entries and exits were closed at the two locations. Similar precautions were taken at the Dutch charge d'affaires' house and the ambassador's residence. He didn't provide any further information and spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

Earlier Saturday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires to protest the country's decision to withdraw the flight permit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The Turkish foreign ministry says that it doesn't want to see the Dutch ambassador, who is out of the country, to return to his post for some time because of the increasingly divisive dispute with the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has forced the Turkish foreign minister to stay out of the Netherlands and thus banned him from speaking about next month's referendum to expand the powers of the Turkish president.

The Turkish foreign ministry statement says that "we have expressed to our Dutch counterparts that this grave decision against Turkey and the Turkish society in the Netherlands would lead to serious consequences in our diplomatic, political, economic and our other relations."

About 100 pro-Turkish demonstrators have gathered outside the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam at dusk with flags in a peaceful protest following the acrimonious words between both governments. The crowd is standing near the consulate's entrance, with Rotterdam police putting up railings to keep anyone from getting too close.

The protest came after the Dutch government barred the Turkish foreign minister from landing in the Netherlands to address a rally in support of a Turkish referendum to extend the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As the crowd grew, so did the Dutch security force outside the consulate and at one point, a chopper came hovering overhead.

Turkey's foreign minister says that the Dutch decision to deny his plane landing permission for him to enter the Netherlands "is a scandal in every way and cannot be accepted."

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was due to visit Rotterdam on Saturday to campaign for a referendum next month on constitutional reforms in Turkey. The Dutch government says that it withdrew the permission because of "risks to public order and security."

Cavusoglu, speaking at Istanbul's airport, said that the Dutch are trying to prevent Turkish officials from meeting voters in Europe.

He said: "So they cancelled it due to security concerns, what, so is the minister a terrorist?"

The minister added: "We will give them the response they deserve."

He also said that "we have received many supportive messages from the Netherlands, saying they don't agree with their government's racist, fascist policies."

Around 100 people have marched in Istanbul to protest Netherlands' decision to bar Turkey's foreign minister from campaigning.

The demonstrators have laid a black wreath in front of the Dutch Consulate amid a heavy police presence.

The pro-government group said in a statement, "Today we see the Dutch government making decisions that hurt the Turkish nation."

Emphasizing freedom of assembly and expression, the group said, "Netherlands has made big mistakes towards Turkey's ministers in terms of democratic rights and freedoms."

The group chanted "God is Great" and other slogans before dispersing.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim criticized Netherlands' decision, calling on Europe to cease meddling in Turkey's affairs.

Speaking at a rally in western Turkey, Yildirim said: "They are banning our ministers and lawmakers who were going there to meet our citizens living abroad, they are creating obstacles."

The prime minister added: "Hey Europe, please don't meddle in Turkey's internal affairs and politics and don't take a side."

The Turkish government accuses Germany and Netherlands of preventing campaigns in order to influence a "no" vote in the referendum.

The organizers of the planned rally in Rotterdam with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appealed for calm after the Dutch government barred him from coming to campaign for next month's referendum in Turkey.

The organizers said: "We are asking all our citizens to stay home, calm and subdued."

The organizers said that "the decision is undemocratic and counter to the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression." Since the rally was called off, they said Turkish-Dutch citizens who have a right to vote in the referendum "would give a fitting answer" in the vote, which the Dutch government sees as a step backward in the democratic process in Turkey.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called a Turkish allegation that the Dutch acted like "fascists" by banning the foreign minister from entering the Netherlands to campaign "a crazy remark."

"I understand they are angry but this is of course way out of line," Rutte said in the southern Netherlands during a campaign rally for next Wednesday's Dutch elections.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Dutch "do not know politics or international diplomacy" and added, "these Nazi remnants, they are fascists."

Rutte said it was not right "for Turkish ministers to campaign in the Netherlands among Dutch people —with potentially a Turkish passport, yes — but first of all Dutch people."

Despite the angry words, Rutte said it was important to keep good relations with Turkey.

"We will do everything to keep the relations with Turkey as good as possible, as strong as possible," Rutte said. The Netherlands and Turkey are NATO allies and, through the European Union, it also has a major agreement with Ankara on migration flows.

Turkey's EU Minister Omer Celik has tweeted that the decision to block a visit by the Turkish foreign minister "will go down in history as a dark spot on the Netherlands' democracy and diplomacy."

Celik said: "The Netherlands' decision to cancel the flight permit of our foreign minister is not befitting of friendship. This decision does not suit our alliance and our friendship that has spanned centuries. If racist Geert Wilders were in power in the Netherlands, he'd make such a decision."

Kemal Kilicdaroglu the leader of Turkey's main opposition party criticized the Dutch decision and said, "This is not correct."

He added: "Those who defend democracy would not do such things. You'll call yourself a democrat and then not permit the flight of a minister of the Turkish Republic?"

The Dutch government on Saturday withdrew landing permission for the Turkish foreign minister's aircraft, drawing a furious reaction the Turkish president and escalating a diplomatic dispute between the two NATO allies over campaigning for a Turkish referendum on constitutional reform.

The Dutch government said in a statement it had withdrawn the permission because of "risks to public order and security" caused by the proposed visit of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Rotterdam.

"You can stop our foreign minister's plane all you want, let's see how your planes will come to Turkey from now on," Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul. </s> , The Hague, Netherlands, Feb 5 – The Netherlands announced Monday it was withdrawing its ambassador from Turkey, and will refuse to allow Ankara to post one in the country as diplomatic ties plunge to new lows.

Relations have deteriorated in the past months, after Dutch officials barred a Turkish minister from attending a rally in Rotterdam on the eve of the March general elections here.

Despite recent high-level talks between the two countries, “we have not been able to agree on the way normalisation should take place,” Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra said in a statement.

The Dutch government has therefore “decided to officially withdraw the Netherlands’ ambassador in Ankara, who has not had access to Turkey since March 2017,” the foreign ministry added.

“As long as the Netherlands has no ambassador to Turkey, the Netherlands will also not issue permission for a new Turkish ambassador to take up duties in the Netherlands.”

Relations between the two NATO allies have spiralled to an all-time low after the Netherlands expelled Turkey’s Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kayar in March.

The country had also barred another minister’s plane from landing as both Turkish politicians sought to attend a Rotterdam rally of Dutch-Turkish citizens in favour of last April’s Turkish referendum.

But Betul Sayan Kayar defied the Dutch government ban, arriving by car from Germany to press for the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be extended in the referendum.

Protests erupted in the port city as Dutch police stopped her addressing the rally, and escorted her out of the country.

Riot police had to move in to break up an angry demonstration using dogs, horses and water cannon, which added to political tensions just days before the Dutch general elections.

Furious Turkish officials in vain demanded an apology for the minister’s treatment from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

And the Dutch ambassador, who had been abroad at the time, was blocked from returning to Turkey.

Erdogan even accused the Dutch of behaving like “fascists” in their treatment of the Turkish ministers — comments which triggered anger in the Netherlands occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Netherlands is home to some 400,000 people of Turkish origin, and the two countries have had diplomatic relations for some four centuries.

But ties first began to strain in 2012 over a row about a Turkish boy adopted by Dutch lesbian parents.

And in 2016 Turkish-Dutch journalist Ebru Umar was arrested and briefly detained after she tweeted comments critical of Erdogan. She was only released after an intervention from the Dutch foreign ministry.

The Dutch NOS public broadcaster reported Monday that the recent talks had sought to find a “magic formula” to restore ties, under which neither side would have to apologise.

“This formula has clearly not been found, and the deterioration between the two countries has clearly gone further than we thought,” NOS added. </s> On Saturday the Dutch government withdrew landing permission for a Turkish foreign minister’s aircraft, sparking a furious reaction by Turkish president Recep Erdogan and escalating a diplomatic dispute between the two NATO allies.

The primary concern of the Dutch was the Islamic Turks inability to assemble without violence in Rotterdam. Throughout the day tensions grew until finally a full-blown Islamist riot began and the Dutch government were forced to respond with riot police.

Unfortunately, this behavior is exactly what the Dutch predicted would happen, and it would appear the Turkish Muslims were determined to prove the Dutch authority correct.

In another Ironic twist, the behavior by the Muslim Turkish constituency in Rotterdam will most likely aid a political resurgence of Dutch Nationalist Gert Wilders who has promised to rid the country of radical Islamists.

(Via AP) Rotterdam – Ahmed Aboutayeb said early Sunday that the Turkish family affairs minister is being escorted back to the German border from where she came after she tried to reach the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam against the wishes of the Dutch government.

“The minister is on her way to Germany,” Aboutayeb said after an extraordinary standoff between a minister from a NATO ally and an overwhelming police force.

“She was called an unwanted foreigner by the government and the rules say you send someone back to the country she came from,” he said.

Hundreds of pro-Turkey protesters scuffled with police as authorities tried to end a demonstration at the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam, where a Turkish minister fruitlessly tried to enter the compound.

At one stage, protesters were throwing bottles and mobbing police vehicles as they moved away from the consulate in central Rotterdam. But soon, police charged on horseback and moved forward with batons wielding. It was unclear if people were detained or injured. </s> The Dutch diplomat outed as a spy in Turkish newspapers has been brought back to the Netherlands for his own safety, broadcaster NOS said on Tuesday.

According to Turkish papers, the man had been researching links between the Turkish government and terror group IS and said to have paid for information about the Turkish military operations in Afrin in Syria.

The Dutch foreign affairs ministry said the man was attached to the Dutch consulate in Istanbul and was tasked with ‘regional operations’ but declined to give further details, NOS reported.

Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah claims the man, with the initials A Z, worked for the Dutch military secret service MIVD and had been tracked by the authorities in Ankara for some time.

The Netherlands does not have an ambassador in Turkey since relations between the two countries cooled last year.
The government of the Netherlands recalls a diplomat from Turkey after local newspapers accused him of spying.