Dutch MPs say they will cancel a trip to Turkey if the country insists on a boycott of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders. A spokesman for Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu described the anti-Islam MP as a fascist and a racist who was not welcome in Turkey.

He said there were no organisations in Turkey willing to meet Mr Wilders, and his presence in the delegation would harm relations between the two countries.

Leader of the Dutch delegation, Labour Party MP Harm Evert Waalkens, says that if Turkey boycotts Mr Wilders, the Dutch MPs will call off the visit altogether. He says he will be taking the matter up with Turkish counterparts on Wednesday.

RNW's Silvia Brens asked residents of Istanbul for their reactions to a visit from Geert Wilders. Click here to watch the video report.

Dutch MPs also backed Mr Wilders when he was refused entry to the United Kingdom in February. Even his most vehement opponents on the left consistently support his right to travel and free speech – although though they criticise him for holding double standards on free speech himself. Mr Wilders has compared the Qur’an to Hitler’s Mein Kampf and called for it to be banned.

Disgrace
In response to the Turkish boycott, Mr Wilders said, “The Turks are showing their true face with these stupid words and prove they must never be allowed to join the EU. I’m neither a fascist nor a racist.” He added it would be a “disgrace of the first order” if he were not included in the delegation, and “capitulating to an autocratic regime”.

Mr Wilders called on Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to intervene. However, Mr Verhagen has said it is a matter for the Lower House and he will not be playing any mediating role. Mr Wilders has also asked for the foreign minister’s guarantee that Turkey will not extradite him to Jordan, where he faces blasphemy charges for his anti-Islam film Fitna. A case against him is also pending in the Netherlands for inciting hatred.

Barbarism
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders is a fervent opponent of Turkish membership of the European Union. In a recent opinion column in de Volkskrant newspaper he recently set out ten reasons why the EU should say no to Turkey. “More import of backward Islamic culture is undesirable, our European culture is founded on Judeo-Christian and humanist culture, and not Islamic,” he said. “Western civilisation is so much better than a culture based on Islamic imperialism and barbarism.”

Debate
Meanwhile a Czech Muslim organisation, Libertas Independent Agency, has said it plans to invite Mr Wilders to the Czech Republic to screen his film Fitna. A spokesman for the organisation, Lukas Lhotan, said that open debate would be the best way to approach anti-Islamic feelings. “We’ve seen what happens if prejudices are ignored, like in the twentieth century when anti-Semitism was largely ignored.” He would like to see Mr Wilders in debate with the Czech Republic’s only spiritual Muslim leader, Imam Emir Omic.

However, it remains to be seen whether Mr Wilders will take up the Muslim organisation’s invitation. He keeps a tight rein on his party’s profile in the media, and in the Netherlands he consistently refuses to enter into debate with Muslim groups or opposition parties outside parliament.

Geert Wilders addresses a press conference - ANP