Sweden, Turkey ministerial meeting canceled due to anti-Turkish protests
ISTANBUL – Turkiye on Saturday canceled a planned visit by Sweden’s defense minister in response to the Nordic country’s issuing of permits for anti-Turkish protests.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the planned January 27 visit by his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson would not take place. He said the meeting no longer had “any meaning or point” because Sweden continued to allow “disgusting” demonstrations against Turkiye.
Jonsson said in a Twitter post that he met Akar at a defense ministers’ meeting in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday where they “agreed to postpone” the meeting in Ankara.
“Relations with Turkiye are very important for Sweden and we look forward to continuing the dialogue on common security and defense issues at a later date,” he wrote.
Sweden is gearing up for several demonstrations this weekend. A far-right activist from Denmark has been given permission by the police to stage a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, where he intends to burn the Koran, Islam’s holy book. At the same time, both pro-Turkish and pro-Kurdish groups are planning demonstrations in the Swedish capital.
In Sweden, freedom of speech is guaranteed by the constitution and gives people extensive rights to express their opinions publicly, although incitement to violence or hate speech is not allowed. Demonstrators must apply to the police for a permit for a public assembly. The police can refuse such permits only on exceptional grounds, such as risks to public safety.
Turkish officials took to Twitter on Saturday to condemn anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan’s plans to burn the Koran. Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkey’s president, called it a hateful crime against humanity. Government party spokesman Omer Celik accused Swedish authorities of protecting hate crimes. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that attacks on the Koran cannot be considered freedom of expression and said he hoped Swedish authorities would withdraw the permit for the protest.
It is the latest backlash from Turkiye, a NATO member that has held off approving Sweden’s application to join the military alliance until the Swedish government cracks down on groups Ankara views as security threats.
Turkiye summoned the Swedish ambassador on Friday to condemn the planned protests, saying protests by pro-Kurdish groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, would be a violation of the joint memorandum signed between Turkiye, Sweden and Finland that prevented a Turkish veto for the Nordic countries’ NATO accession in June. Turkey, the US and the EU consider the PKK a terrorist group, and in the memorandum, Sweden and Finland said they “confirm” that designation as well.
Earlier in January, a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hung from a lamppost during a Kurdish protest. Turkiye condemned a decision by a Swedish prosecutor not to investigate, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the protest “sabotage” against Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Turkiye summoned the Swedish ambassador earlier this week and canceled a visit by the speaker of the Swedish parliament in response to the incident.
All NATO members must ratify Sweden’s and Finland’s accession requests in their parliaments, which were made after Russia’s war on Ukraine prompted the Nordic countries to abandon their long-standing policy of military non-alignment. While Turkiye says it has no objection to NATO’s growth, it will not ratify until its demands, which include the extradition of alleged terror suspects, are met.
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