Dutch Turkish hooligans in the city of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, declared war on Dutch media yesterday when the Turkish military staged a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
When the soldiers attempted their coup, Erdogan told his own supporters to go out on the streets and resist the military takeover. The results could immediately be seen: thousands of civilians climbed on top of tanks and made it impossible for the soldiers to carry out their instructions. Because of this (and some other rookie mistakes) the military takeover failed.
However, Turks in Turkey weren’t the only ones who did what Erdogan told them. As Dutch website De Dagelijkse Standaard (or DDS, The Daily Standard, which I own) reported earlier today, Dutch Turks did the same last night. Instead of fighting against soldiers — obviously there weren’t any Turkish soldiers in the Netherlands — they declared war on the Dutch media.
When a journalist for state channel, the NOS, tried to report about the pro-Erdogan protests in Rotterdam, he was immediately attacked by these ‘Turks.” Note: these people were born and raised in the Netherlands. In most cases, their parents or grandparents moved to the Netherlands. They have lived nowhere else. When (or if) they go to Turkey it’s because it’s holiday season and they want to enjoy the beautiful Turkish weather and beaches.
That doesn’t prevent them from feeling Turkish, not Dutch. What’s more, many of them are proudly loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s autocratic and Islamist ruler.
The NOS explains what happened in Rotterdam when their reporter tried to do his job:
At a certain moment the atmosphere changed. A group of young boys attacked our camera team. Reporter Robert Bas says that one cameraman was beaten up, their car was also damaged. “There’s a strong anti-Western media attitude here,” he said.
If you don’t understand why these Turkish Dutch youths would riot in the Netherlands because of an attempted coup in Turkey, you’re not alone. As DDS reporter Tim Engelbart writes:
If these ‘heroic young men’ want to make a difference, I’d encourage them to move to Turkey. They won’t accomplish anything here in the Netherlands, except, of course, for the fact that they once again prove that they consider themselves first and foremost Turks, not Dutchmen.
There is something very, very seriously wrong with the Turkish community in the Netherlands. These people were born and raised in “the lowlands,” but behave as if they’re only loyal to Turkey, and especially to President Erdogan, a man who’s known for his attempts to destroy the freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Apparently his Turkish-Dutch followers share his views and are not afraid to act on them when given an excuse.
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