Provocations against Ankara are multiplying in Sweden, in reaction to the blackmail of President Erdogan, who continues to block the accession of the Scandinavian country to NATO.
by Anne- Françoise Hiver (Malmö (Sweden), regional correspondent)
The Koran burned in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, the flag of Sweden burned in front of the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, several official canceled visits… while the Swedish authorities have been trying, for more than eight months, to convince Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratifies Sweden’s membership request to NATO, the time for diplomacy seems to be spent.
In Sweden, calls are multiplying to defend freedom of expression, faced with the blackmail of Ankara, whatever the consequences for the candidacy of the country to NATO. A change of attitude which is explained by the conviction, now widespread, that only the United States can convince Mr. Erdogan to give up his veto and that Sweden has everything to lose by continuing to make concessions in Ankara.
Saturday, January 21, tensions reached a new highlight, with the announcement, at the start of the day, of the cancellation of the visit of the Swedish Defense Minister, Pal Jonson, in Turkey, 27 January. In question: the permit to demonstrate, granted by the Swedish police, in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, to the Dano-Swedish extremist Rasmus Paludan whose specialty is to burn the Koran by insulting Muslims.
Swedish flag burned in Istanbul
In the spring of 2022, his arrival, orchestrated by the far right, in the Swedish suburbs where many immigrants resident, had caused riots. During the campaign, before the general elections of September 11, 2022, the Party of the Democrats of Sweden (SD) used images of fiery police vehicles to denounce the absence of integration of Muslims.
According to the left newspaper etc, the Koran autodafé, Saturday January 21, was organized with the help of the editor -in -chief of the Nyheter Idag site, Chang Frick, close to the SDs. Under the high police surveillance, the performance of the extremist lasted only a few minutes and took place in peace, while a small group of activists from the Union of Turkish European Democrats demonstrated his support for Mr. Erdogan , not far from the embassy.
A few hours later, around 500 prokurd activists and opponents of Sweden’s membership in NATO paraded in the streets of Stockholm, trampling on a giant portrait of the Turkish president. Images that have aroused anger in Turkey and in several Arab countries.
In Istanbul, demonstrators burned the Swedish flag in front of the country’s consulate. “Despite all the warnings, Sweden continues to authorize provocative terrorist acts against Turkey,” said Mustafa Sentop, the president of the Turkish parliament, accusing the Swedish administration of having surrendered “an accomplice of hate crime” in authorizing the Koran autodafé.
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