International

SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel is demanding a speedy explanation from the government of the way in which the celebrated Turkish singer Arif Sağ was treated at Schiphol, Amsterdam’s and the Netherlands’ major airport. Despite not needing a visa to enter the country, the singer, a leading figure in modern Turkish folk music, was subject to lengthy interrogation. Eventually he gave up and went home, taking no part in a concert to mark four hundred years of relations between Turkey and the Netherlands.

‘The Netherlands is risking serious damage to diplomatic relations,’ says Van Bommel. ‘A few days previously Arif Sağ also experienced problems entering our country. I want immediate clarification of the cause of such an extended interrogation. If there is no clear reason, then the Netherlands must apologise to him and to Turkey.’ Van Bommel today presented an official written parliamentary question on the matter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.