Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in the Netherlands on Thursday for a lightning visit that has been overshadowed by protests about the fostering of a nine-year-old boy by a lesbian couple.

Prime minister Mark Rutte is expected to raise the issue of Yunus, which has reportedly caused an outcry in the populist Turkish media, during his talks with Erdogan.

However, NRC correspondent Bram Vermeulen says the reports are exaggerated and the case ‘does not make the front pages’. ‘Turkey is busy with other issues,’ Vermeulen said.

Interference

Nor has the Turkish government made official comments, even though last week, deputy Dutch prime minister Lodewijk Asscher said he considered Turkish interference in the case ‘inappropriate’.

Yunus and his foster mothers have since gone into hiding to escape the commotion.

Erdogan, who arrived in Amsterdam last night, will meet Rutte in The Hague on Thursday afternoon. Prior to that he will meet queen Beatrix in the Huis ten Bosch palace and visit the Keukenhof tulip gardens.

Protests

Several organisations are planning to protest at Erdogan’s visit in the central parliamentary courtyard. They include young Jewish protestors angry at his dismissal of Zionism and representatives of Kurdish and Armenian groups who want more rights.

A protest against Turkish children being fostered by gay couples and people who are not Muslim is planned to take place in Lelystad.