Erdogan’s political opponents in Sweden rush to label deal’s sell-off
On the one hand relief, on the other new concern.
THE last night agreement with Turkey Unblocking Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession process has brought relief to Madrid, but fears the two Scandinavian countries may have given too much to Ankara over the deportations of what Turkey considers terrorists, Politico notes.
Erdogan’s political opponents in Sweden rushed to label the deal as salewhich could boost Turkey’s efforts to secure the extradition of Kurdish activists and other opponents.
“This is a dark day in Swedish political history,” she said Amineh Kakabavehan independent Swedish MP and longtime advocate for Kurdish rights.
“We are negotiating with a regime that does not respect the freedom of expression or the rights of minority groups,” Kakabaveh, a former Kurdish Peshmerga fighter in Iran, told SVT Nyheter.
Since mid-May, Turkey has threatened to veto Sweden and Finland’s demands to join NATO unless the two countries comply, among other things, with their demands to crack down on groups Ankara considers terrorist.
Turkey’s demand has sparked political tensions, as Stockholm and Helsinki disagree that all the groups on Ankara’s list are terrorist.
For example, all three consider the PKK terrorists, but only Turkey sees the Kurdish YPG and PYD groups based in Syria as terrorists.
Over the past two months, officials from the three countries, as well as from NATO headquarters, have sought to reach a compromise that would allow Erdogan to claim a diplomatic victory without undermining Swedish or Finnish human rights law.
A 10-point compromise scared the Kurds
The 10-point agreement reached late last night was the result of this compromise.
The most sensitive point was undoubtedly the eighthwhich included the commitment of Sweden and Finland “to respond to pending requests for the expulsion or extradition of terrorist suspects from Turkey promptly and thoroughly”.
Although loosely worded and vague enough to be potentially insignificant, this clause scared some Kurds in Sweden.
Kurdo Baksi, a prominent Kurdish writer living in Sweden, told Swedish television that he was concerned that the two Scandinavian countries might have promised Turkey to extradite Kurds and other Turks who have sought refuge in the two countries.
“I hope that Sweden will join NATO with the same view on democracy and human rights that it had before Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson traveled to Madrid,” he said.
In an interview with Sweden’s national television station on Wednesday, the prime minister Anderson tried to downplay the impact of the Swedish and Finnish commitments on Turkey.
“I know there are people who are worried that we will start chasing and deporting them and I think it is important to say that we always work in accordance with Swedish law and existing international conventions,” he said. “If you are not involved in terrorism, you do not need to worry,” he added.
Confirmation required
But many opposition lawmakers were not reassured.
Hakan Sveneling, a spokesman for the Left Party’s foreign policy, said Sweden had made “shameful concessions”.
Before Sweden and Finland decided to apply for NATO membership, the Swedish Left Party had argued that joining an alliance with Turkey could have serious negative consequences, and its lawmakers rushed to seek justice.
“The our sale to Erdogan “It happened quickly,” said Ulla Andersson, a former spokeswoman for the Left Party.
In Finlandthe reaction to the agreement seemed much milder, with an emphasis on the positive prospects of joining NATO, rather than on any potential human rights damage it could cause.
This was a reflection of Finland’s wider parliamentary consensus on NATO membership.
In Sweden, the Left Party and the Green Party remain strongly critical of NATO membership, and Green Party leader Märta Stenevi on Wednesday called on the Swedish Foreign Minister to explain to the Foreign Affairs Committee that as rpos the Kurdish publications.
For her part, Kakabaveh, a former member of the Left Party, said she might launch a no-confidence motion against Foreign Minister Linde.
It was unclear how much support such a move would have in parliament, but a similar vote aimed at Justice Minister Morgan Johansson in early June almost toppled the Swedish government, three months before the scheduled general election.
Kakabaveh reached an agreement with Prime Minister Andersson’s ruling Social Democrats just last November, guaranteeing more support for the PYD-based Syria and the YPG.
However, Tuesday’s 10-point agreement with Turkey said the governments of Sweden and Finland had agreed not to provide such support, leaving the Social Democrats’ agreement with Kakabaveh unclear.
Kakabaveh said she hoped the Left Party and the Green Party would join her in seeking to put pressure on the Swedish government over its concessions to Turkey.
“It is not just about the Kurds, but about Sweden not succumbing to a regime like Erdogan’s,” he said.
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