Ankara speaks of “hate crimes”: A Koran burning in Stockholm causes outrage in Turkey and other Muslim countries. This is not a good sign for Sweden’s hoped-for NATO membership.
The burning of a Koran during a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm has further strained talks with Turkey about Sweden’s NATO membership. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the incident on Saturday as a “racist hate crime” – the action also caused outrage in other Muslim-majority countries. Sweden’s foreign minister distanced himself from the action and condemned it as an “Islamophobic provocation”.
The reason for the outrage is a protest by a small group led by Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paldudan on Saturday in Stockholm. According to the Swedish news agency TT, a copy of the Koran – the holy text of Islam – was also burned near the Turkish embassy. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström wrote on Twitter: “Sweden has a wide range of freedom of expression, but that does not mean that the Swedish government or I support the opinions expressed.”
Sharp criticism came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, among others. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry was “shocked that the Swedish authorities approved this unacceptable act,” as reported by the state agency MAP. This act would offend more than a billion Muslims and fuel anger and hatred between religions and peoples. On social media, some users called for a boycott of Swedish goods and service providers.
Under the “cloak of freedom of speech”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry declared that allowing such an “anti-Islamic act” under the “cloak of freedom of expression” was unacceptable. Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP also condemned the burning of the Koran. There were protests in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul on Saturday evening, as videos showed.
Hours before the protest in Stockholm, Turkey canceled a visit by Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson to Ankara that was planned for next Friday. It was supposed to be about Sweden joining NATO. According to the state news agency Anadolu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar justified the cancellation by saying that Sweden had failed to take action against “disgusting” anti-Turkish protests on its soil.
NATO member Turkey has been blocking the admission of Sweden and Finland to the defense alliance for months. Turkey in particular accuses Sweden of supporting “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and is demanding the extradition of a number of people whom Ankara regards as terrorists. All 30 NATO members must ratify applications for NATO membership.
It is unlikely that the Turkish National Assembly will vote on the proposal before the parliamentary and presidential elections, which are expected to be brought forward to May. The conflict could even give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a boost in the election campaign. In the past, he was also able to use disputes with the West to consolidate nationalist constituencies.
A new dispute between Sweden and Turkey had only recently ignited at a protest in central Stockholm. There, activists had hung a doll resembling Erdogan by its feet. As a result, Turkey canceled a visit by the Swedish Parliament President Andreas Norlén to Ankara.
Source: Stern
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