THE HAGUE, 04/04/01 - Turkish President Ahmet Sezer and his wife arrived in the Netherlands yesterday for a three-day visit. It is the first state visit Sezer has made to a European Union member country.

After being greeted by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, the party left for Amsterdam, where the Turkish president laid a wreath at the National Monument in Dam Square. Later in the day, Sezer and his wife met Amsterdam Mayor Cohen, and then took a tour of the city by canal boat. The day ended with a State Banquet offered by Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus.

Sezer (1941), who had worked in the judiciary for most of his life, was elected last May as the tenth president of Turkey. He is the first Turkish president not to have his roots in the armed forces or national political circles.

Today's program includes meetings with Prime Minister Wim Kok, the Upper and Lower House speakers and the Turkish community. The population of the Netherlands includes about 300,000 people of Turkish origin. For the most part, they take a positive view of the state visit.

To conclude the visit, Sezer and Queen Beatrix will visit Leiden University tomorrow. An anti-racist action group has announced its intention of holding a "noisy protest" there, claiming that Turkey is not a democratic country. The demonstration is intended to show solidarity with the resistance organizations in Turkey and Kurdistan and with all movements fighting for democracy there.