Why Sweden is headed for disaster
The toxic mix of far-right nationalists and PKK terrorist supporters is sowing seeds of hatred in Europe against both Muslims and Turkey. And Sweden is sitting on a powder keg.
A Danish-Swedish right-wing extremist known for spreading anti-Muslim hatred burned a copy of the Holy Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on January 21 under the protection of Swedish police.
The incident has not only drawn condemnation from Muslims worldwide, but many non-Muslim leaders have also expressed their disapproval of it. But the devil is in the details. A large segment of Europeans, including many strong voices within Sweden, have defended this heinous act under the pretext of upholding freedom of speech and expression.
Swedish government authorities deliberately became bystanders, enabling a far-right politician to burn the Holy Quran outside the Turkish embassy. Although the Swedish government has made some face-saving statements, condemning the desecration of Islam’s holy book and describing it as an attempt to sabotage the country’s NATO bid, its decision to allow this sickening spectacle sent a clear message to Muslims worldwide – that the Nordic state has no respect for followers of Islam.
Far from being “isolated” and “exceptional”, the latest incident is yet another addition to a worrying pattern that we have seen in Sweden over the last few decades. It must be remembered that Sweden has become a haven for the PKK, classified by the EU, the US and Turkey as a terrorist group. The Swedish state willingly turns a blind eye to the dehumanizing language that PKK supporters use on the streets of Stockholm to discredit Turkey and its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Any nation-state that disregards the rules-based international order and undermines another nation’s national security is doomed to suffer its own disaster. Sweden is slowly but surely heading in that direction. By allowing itself to become one of the PKK’s launch pads, it has opened a Pandora’s box; other extremist groups will exploit the country’s unregulated social space, while the Swedish extreme right has already swallowed it and is carrying out depraved acts under the guise of free speech. Combining the far right with the PKK’s support base has produced a dangerous hybrid that resembles Frankenstein’s monster.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine forced Sweden to come to terms with years of misguided policies that strengthened the presence of both the PKK and the far right on Swedish soil, Stockholm promised Ankara last fall that it would address Turkey’s security concerns and win Ankara’s approval. of its NATO bid.
A trilateral memorandum between Sweden, Finland and Turkey was signed at the NATO summit in Madrid last year rattled the PKK. But since Sweden is in a state of disevolution, radicalism has gone unchecked, encouraging both PKK supporters and far-right extremists to pursue divisive agendas.
Although the PKK and the Swedish far-right have grown in size and influence, Stockholm continues to pursue policies that have led to the country becoming self-trapped, exposing the country to far greater challenges arising from new geopolitical realities. Russia’s incursion into Ukraine has jolted Sweden out of years of dormancy, exposed its defense and military vulnerabilities and pushed the country to seek NATO protection. In light of Turkey’s enormous contribution to the North Atlantic military alliance, Sweden had no choice but to repair ties with Ankara. So last fall, when Stockholm vowed to rein in PKK supporters, it seemed as if the base for extremism would soon shrink in the country.
But rampant anti-Türkiye protests marked by derogatory slogans and the subsequent Koran-burning act have undermined Sweden’s NATO position. While Sweden is rapidly losing respect in the eyes of Muslims, its promise to Turkey is falling apart at the seams.
There was clear intent behind the burning of Islam’s holy book in front of the Turkish embassy: It was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, a rabid Muslim hater and far-right politician, at a time when Ankara demanded that Stockholm take decisive action against the PKK and its offshoots and its support base in return against Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s NATO bid.
One could call the simultaneity of Paludan’s malicious act and anti-Türkiye protests led by PKK supporters a coincidence. But on closer inspection, the two sides play to the tune of Sweden’s hostility towards Muslims and Turkey, which in turn jeopardizes its entry into NATO.
Sweden must be careful and deal with the growing extremism in the country. The two major disruptive forces they need to confront are the PKK and its supporters and the country’s far-right groups.
All right-thinking Europeans must recognize the dangers of normalizing acts of hate in the name of protecting freedom of expression and seeking accountability from their governments. Otherwise, they risk losing well-meaning friends.
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Source: TRT World