“If you don’t show respect for the Turkish Republic or the religious beliefs of the Muslims, then you can’t get any support from us on the NATO issue,” said the Turkish President, alluding to the burning of the Koran in Stockholm.
Sweden may following a Koran burning in Stockholm according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not with Turkey’s support for one Nato– count on joining. “If you don’t show any respect to the Turkish Republic or the religious beliefs of the Muslims, then you can’t get any support from us on the NATO issue,” Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday.
NATO member Turkey has been blocking the admission of Sweden and Finland to the defense alliance for months. Above all, Turkey accuses Sweden of supporting “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and demands the extradition of a number of people whom Ankara regards as terrorists. All 30 NATO members have to ratify the applications for membership, 28 have already done so – only Turkey and Hungary are still missing.
Erdogan doll and Koran burning
Protest actions in Sweden had recently led to renewed trouble with Turkey. Among other things, activists in central Stockholm hung a doll resembling Erdogan by its feet, prompting an angry reaction from Ankara. On Saturday, an Islamophobic politician and provocateur from Denmark poured oil on the fire once more. He burned a Koran at a police-sanctioned rally near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday. The action was a “shame,” said Erdogan.
The Swedish government had distanced itself from this action as well as from the incident with the Erdogan doll, but referred to the freedom of expression that applies in Sweden. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy,” said the prime minister Ulf Kristersson shared on Twitter in response to the Koran burning. “But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. The burning of books sacred to many is a deeply disrespectful act.”
This intensified the already tense relations between the two countries. Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022 following Russia invaded Ukraine. For this to happen, all 30 member states would have to agree.
(APA/dpa/Archyde.com)
