Rumours that Turkish and Kurdish youths are planning a confrontation on Amsterdam’s Museumplein on Wednesday have led to heightened security in the area, with riot police on standby, the Parool reports.

Amsterdam’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan has invoked emergency powers to ban gatherings in the area and enable the police to order people to leave. A council spokesman told news agency ANP the decision is focuses on maintaining public safety.
The ban follows internet conversations calling on Turkish youths to stage a demonstration on the square against the Kurdish separatist movement PKK. On Sunday, a similar demonstration led to clashes with police.
However, both Turkish and Kurdish organisations in the Netherlands have urged people to stay home. ‘We do not want to import the Turkish Kurdish conflict to the Netherlands and Amsterdam,’ they said in a joint declaration.