THE HAGUE, 26/11/09 - The planned visit to Turkey by Dutch MPs in January will probably not take place now that Ankara has stated that MP Geert Wilders is a racist and unwelcome.

"A visit in which Wilders participates will damage the contacts between us as two countries on friendly terms," the spokesman for Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated on Tuesday evening. "A fascist and racist like Wilders is not only unwelcome in Turkey, but also in many European capitals".

The spokesman was probably referring to London, which previously refused to admit Wilders. The UK recently did allow him entry after a British court rapped the knuckles of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government.

Davutoglu's spokesman had apparently expected a different reaction from the Lower House. The unity of action of Lower House delegations is a parliamentary tradition. Therefore, the Lower House visit will be cancelled if Turkey maintains its position.

Wilders must be admitted to Turkey and allowed to participate in all parts of the programme, including the customary meetings with government authorities, Labour (PvdA) MP Harm Waalkens, the leader of the delegation, confirmed yesterday. If Turkey refuses to receive the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader, the other MPs will also stay at home.

Although the Dutch position could possibly change, this would not only be unparliamentarily but moreover would push Wilders further into his favourite underdog position. In other words, the bait Wilders had thrown to Turkey by reserving the plane ticket has thus been swallowed by Ankara but his fellow-MPs are still swimming around it.

Ankara refusing to receive him the MP claims proves he is right in saying that it is not a democratic country. "The Turks are showing their true colours with these stupid words, which prove that they should never be admitted to the EU. I am neither a fascist nor a racist," Wilders insisted.

Wilders is warning Waalkens that if the MPs should go ahead with the visit anyway "we will be capitulating to an autocratic regime." Apart from this, Wilders denied that his proposed visit to Turkey is a provocation.

Wilders considers that Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen must make an official protest to Turkey if he is not received. If the Turks do admit him, guarantees must be given that he will not be extradited to Jordan, where charges have been laid against him.