Sweden condemns PKK demonstration as “disgusting”
ANKARA
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on January 13 condemned a demonstration by the terrorist organization PKK in central Stockholm, where the group’s supporters hung a puppet from its legs portraying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “disgusting” and an “act of sabotage”. against Sweden’s attempt to join NATO.
PKK supporters gathered in front of the historic city hall in the capital Stockholm on January 11, hanging a doll resembling Erdoğan by its feet and sharing video footage of the moment on social media linked to the group, and the demonstration drew an angry backlash from Türkiye, a NATO member that already had waited to approve Sweden’s application to become part of the Western military alliance until the government in Stockholm satisfied its demands.
The speaker of Turkey’s parliament, Mustafa Şentop, canceled a visit by Andreas Norlén, the speaker of the Swedish parliament, which was scheduled for next Tuesday. Turkish lawmakers must ratify Sweden’s NATO application for the Nordic nation to become a member.
On Thursday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Swedish ambassador over the Stockholm demonstration.
Kristersson condemned the incident involving the image of Erdoğan.
“People tried to show their views on Sweden’s NATO membership through a disgusting way of portraying President Erdoğan in almost what looked like an execution.” Kristersson told reporters after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “It’s bad in every way.”
Kristersson said he understood why Türkiye is upset, saying “we would show the same reaction if this was directed at a Swedish leader.”
He earlier told TV4 on Friday that it was “extremely serious” to stage a “mock execution of a foreign democratically elected leader” in a country where two leading politicians have been killed. Sweden’s Prime Minister Olof Palme was murdered in 1986 and Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was fatally stabbed in 2003.
– I would say that this is sabotage against the Swedish NATO application, Kristersson said. “It is dangerous for Swedish security to act in this way.”
He expressed hope that the meeting between the speakers of the Turkish and Swedish parliaments would take place at a later date.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described the protest as a racist act and a hate crime. Sweden would not be able to “get away” with a simple condemnation of the incident, he said.
“This action took place in the center of the city, right in front of the municipality, in front of everyone,” Çavuşoğlu said. “Sweden has a responsibility here.”
“Sweden and Finland made a commitment about what they can do and put their signature on it,” the minister said, referring to a memorandum of understanding in which Sweden and Finland promised, among other things, to crack down on the activities of terrorist groups. “We want nothing more and nothing less. Regardless of what was agreed upon, we want it to be fulfilled.”
Ankara’s chief prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the incident following a criminal complaint filed by Erdoğan’s lawyers and immediately sent a formal request for information and evidence from Swedish authorities, TRT reported.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the protest “now risks complicating and delaying the process that Sweden and its future NATO ally Turkey have begun, and are working step by step to build trust in each other.”
– This action plays directly into the hands of Russia and weakens our country, and it happened during the most serious security situation since World War II, says the Swedish foreign minister.
Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-standing policy of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO in May. All 30 member states must agree to admit the two Nordic neighbors into the security organization.