Sweden’s NATO bid in danger after Koran burning outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm
Sweden’s bid to join NATO (North American Treaty Organization) was further jeopardized after a local politician, Rasmus Paludan, set fire to a copy of the Koran on Saturday in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Angered by the incident, Turkey announced it had canceled a visit by Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson planned for January 27 to overcome Ankara’s objections to Sweden’s NATO bid. Ankara also summoned Sweden’s ambassador to lodge its protest.
Sweden, which has enshrined absolute freedom of speech in its constitution, gave Paludan consent to burn a copy of the Koran. Swedish police also authorized anti-Turkish demonstrations after determining they were protected by the country’s liberal free speech laws. Last year, Paludan’s announcement that he would embark on a Koran-burning tour during the month of Ramadan sparked widespread riots across Sweden.
The country’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, condemned the burning of the Koran. “Freedom of speech is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are sacred to many is a profoundly disrespectful act.” Kristersson said.
Kristersson’s response was criticized by right-wing Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson, who denounced Erdogan as an “Islamist dictator”. He urged Kristersson not to engage in appeasement of Turkey “because ultimately it is an anti-democratic system and a dictator we are dealing with.”
He urged Kristersson not to appease Turkey “because it is ultimately an anti-democratic system and a dictator we are dealing with”.
NATO membership
Sweden and neighboring Finland are hoping for join NATO, dropping decades of military non-alignment in response to the changing geopolitical situation due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Sweden’s neutrality dates back to the end of the Napoleonic era when they began to stay out of European wars.
During the reign of Olof Palme, an influential social democratic prime minister who was assassinated in 1986, the country followed a foreign policy of balance from both America and the Soviet Union.
In May 2022, Finland declared its intention to join NATO. Sweden followed suit. The Finns and the Swedes coordinate their defense policy closely. There are historical reasons behind this.
After Finland’s Winter War with the Soviet Union (1939-40), the Finns had to sign a friendship treaty with Moscow. When NATO was formed in 1949, Sweden decided not to join NATO because they feared it would lead to the unintended consequence of forcing Finland to join the Warsaw Pact. The presence of a Warsaw Pact nation on its border would have put Sweden in danger.
Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s NATO entry
While most NATO members have welcomed Sweden and Finland’s entry into the fold, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has expressed strong opposition to their membership.
Turkey’s ratification is a prerequisite for Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Erdogan has accused Sweden of being “a complete hotbed of terrorism” for harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, who he accuses of encouraging the failed 2016 coup.
In December, Sweden extradited a member of the PKK to Turkey. He had been convicted in a Turkish court and denied asylum in Sweden. But Erdogan is demanding the extradition of more Kurdish “terrorists” based in Sweden. He claims that there were as many as 130 in Sweden.
A consummate politician, Erdogan, who himself faces accusations of imprisoning thousands of Turkish citizens, could potentially see the diplomatic row as an opportunity to reassert his credentials as the new Caliph of the Ummah. With a faltering economy, Erdogan faces a tough re-election race later this year.
Read also: Briefly explained: Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO; Russia threatens reprisals