Wilders slams Dutch-Turkish 400 years commemoration

Geert Wilders, a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom, lashed out at Turkey over the weekend, going as far as to say that President Abdullah Gul is not welcome in the Netherlands next year for celebrations marking 400 years of Dutch-Turkish relations. Gul has been invited to a state visit to the Netherlands in 2012 to commemorate the 400 years of Dutch-Turkish relations. According to Wilders, however, there is no reason to celebrate whatsoever, saying, "The Islamic regime of Gul and fellow party member [sic] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are no true friends of the West, and, thus, not of the Netherlands." On Turkey’s EU negotiations Wilders reiterated his opposition to Turkey joining the EU on the grounds that "Turkey does not want to Europeanize, but wants to Islamize Europe." An opposition party leader, Alexander Pechtold, called Wilders’ statements "absurd", saying that this is a disgrace for the government and the Netherlands.