Turkish Muslims in the Netherlands will continue to freely practice their religion, the Dutch government has assured Turkey, adding that controversial politician Geert Wilders’ understanding of Islam was not shared by the country’s governing coalition.
“The freedom of religion is one of the ingrained constitutional rights for people in the Netherlands and a cornerstone of the Netherlands. People who believe in Islam are entitled to go to the mosque. The only point that they have to take into account is that they should not go beyond the rule of law and the constitutional duties going with that,” Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told a small group of Turkish journalists Tuesday.
The coalition government composed of the Christian Democrat Party, or CDA, and the Liberal Party, or LP, is receiving backing from Wilders’ far right Freedom Party for votes of confidence. Wilders’ rising influence has caused concerns that his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam views could disturb the nearly 400,000-strong Turkish community in the country.
Rosenthal said he discussed the situation with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during the NATO Summit in Lisbon last month and clarified the stance of his government on the critical issue.
“Mr. Wilders doesn’t participate in the coalition government. Why doesn’t he? Because the two coalition parties and Mr. Wilders agreed to disagree on one important question: the position of Islam in Dutch society. Mr. Wilders considers Islam mainly as a political ideology. My [Liberal] party and the Christian Democrats consider Islam as religion, which implies that people who are part of this religion are entitled to all the rights that come along with religious expression,” Rosenthal said, adding that freedom of religion can occasionally come into conflict with constitutional rights that regulate freedom of expression.
When these two fundamental rights contradict each other, the judiciary is the only institution that can again achieve balance, Rosenthal said.
“That is actually what we are talking about. The most important part of the message, however, is that you should understand that there is a mental disagreement between the parties of the coalition and [Wilders’] party, which is not part of the coalition government, on the position of Islam in society,” the foreign minister said.
The coalition parties only cooperate with the Freedom Party on budgetary cutbacks, safety and security policies, care for the elderly and immigration policies, he said.
“I have talked about it with Gül and Davutoğlu,” he said. “They said they were fully sure about the Dutch government’s position.”
Rosenthal is expected to pay a visit to Turkey in February and meet with his Turkish counterparts. Preparations for the celebration of 400 years of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey in 2012 are expected to dominate the meetings, which could produce a memorandum of understanding. The concept of the celebrations is likely to be based on the strong political economic and social ties between the two countries and how they could be boosted in a lasting manner.
“We have a Turkish community of 400,000 and they have contributed over the years to the prosperity of the Netherlands. As far as the situation in the county is concerned, the presence of the Turkish community makes our bilateral relations unique,” Rosenthal said. “Their successes can be found in many fields.”
Emphasizing the success of many Dutch people of Turkish origin in small and medium enterprises, the minister also said there had been an increase in Turks participating in higher education in recent years.
“At the same time we have to face up to the fact that the integration of immigrants [has been] problematic over the last decade. That is a serious concern to the Dutch government and Dutch society at large,” he said, noting that the government would encourage immigrants that have good prospects and would discourage ones with poorer prospects.
“We want to address more firmly the process of integration of those who are here already. We should see to it that we don’t spoil the possibilities for people from abroad who have very good prospects and who can actually contribute to the prosperity of the Netherlands,” Rosenthal said.
Chapters to remain frozen
Touching on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Rosenthal said his government would seek an enlargement policy that would be in the interest of the EU and the Netherlands.
“The principle of the Dutch government with regard to enlargement is strict and fair. We keep to the strict conditions and criteria for entering the EU,” he said.
For Rosenthal, the disappointment for them was Turkey’s failure to implement the Ankara Protocol and the recognition of Cyprus.
“That is the reason why eight chapters were frozen in 2006 and they should remain frozen,” he said, adding that he hoped Turkey would eventually implement the protocol.
Noting that the Cyprus problem did not only hinder the Turkey-EU path but also NATO-EU cooperation, Rosenthal said the matter was delaying matters in a number of areas.
“As far as I know, the Belgian presidency of the EU is working hard on it,” he said.