Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Sweden cannot count on Turkey’s support in gaining NATO membership after the Quran burning at the Turkish embassy in Stockholm last weekend.
Right-wing extremist politician Rasmus Paludan was allowed to stage a protest in which he burned a Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital. That permission sparked anger in Turkey. The Swedish ambassador to Turkey had to report on Friday because of the planned Koran burning.
About a hundred people attended the burning of the Quran, many of them journalists. As Paludan burned the book, he gave a nearly hour-long monologue about Islam and immigration. A small pro-Turkish protest was held on the other side of the embassy. There were no clashes between the two groups.
“If you don’t show respect for the Turkish republic or the faith of Muslims, you can’t get support from us with regard to NATO,” Erdogan said in a speech after the cabinet meeting. He called the Danish-Swedish Paludan’s stunt a “disgrace”. Swedish politicians also condemned Paludan’s action, but at the same time they defended the broad freedom of expression in the country.
Smooth out pleats
A visit from the Swedish minister of defense was also put on hold. Pal Jonson would come to talk about Sweden’s NATO membership. According to Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s defense minister, a meeting has “lost its importance and meaning”.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since Turkey has blocked Sweden and Finland from joining NATO. All members must agree to that membership. Ankara is conditional on Sweden extraditing up to 130 people whom Turkey considers to be Kurdish terrorists or involved in the 2016 coup attempt. The Swedish defense minister had hoped to iron out all the wrinkles with his visit next week.
Fierce
Last week, Turkey also withdrew an invitation to the Swedish speaker of parliament after a riot. The Turkish government was then furious about an action by Swedish Kurds, who had hung a dummy of the Turkish president at his feet, as if he had been executed.
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