Turkey seems to be constantly raising the bar, demanding the extradition of more and more Kurdish “terrorists” living in Sweden
Between the almost impossible demands of Turkey and the protests against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip ErdoganSweden’s government finds itself in an increasingly difficult position in its negotiations with Turkey to get the green light from Ankara to join NATO.
The prospect of any development in this direction before the Turkish elections, which will take place in mid-May, seems very small.
“Without a doubt we can now forget about the Turkish approval before the elections”, he underlined Paul Levine director of the Institute of Turkish Studies at the University of Stockholm.
“On the one hand, Erdogan in the months before the elections wants to draw attention from an economy in bad shape,” he explained.
“On the other hand, groups in Sweden who oppose the NATO and PKK supporters, worried about the assurances given by the government, realized that they can irritate the Turkish president by insulting him and thus derail the accession process,” Levin noted.
However, yesterday’s demonstration, which had received permission from the authorities and which took place in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm by the far-right Swedish Rasmus Paludanangered Ankara.
Sweden’s Constitution and freedoms of assembly and expression led the police to approve the mobilization of the head of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party.
The incident angered Turkey, which, after summoning the Swedish ambassador, canceled the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson.
This is the second diplomatic episode between the two countries since the beginning of the year: Last week in another demonstration in Stockholm, participants hung an effigy of the Turkish president, prompting a strong reaction from Ankara.
The Swedish prime minister Ulf Christerson had called that demonstration “sabotage” of Sweden’s NATO candidacy and a “mock execution” of a “democratically elected politician”.
“Islamic Dictator”
However, Kristerson’s harsh remarks sparked a backlash within the country for what many Swedes say was a democratic protest.
THE Jimmy Akesson, head of Sweden’s far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), which is not in government but is the largest party in the right-wing governing coalition, asked Christerson not to give too much to Erdogan, whom he described as an “Islamist dictator”.
At the same time, Turkey seems to be constantly raising the bar, demanding the extradition of more and more Kurdish “terrorists” living in Sweden. Up to 130, Erdogan recently stated. And this at a time when Swedish justice, and not the government, has the final say on deportations.
Turkey “wants things we can’t and don’t want to give them,” Christerson admitted in early January, referring to the deportations.
The Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenbergwho in the spring predicted Sweden joining the alliance within weeks, estimates that will happen in 2023 but is unable to guarantee exactly when, he told AFP in an interview this month.
“I cannot guarantee the exact date because it certainly depends on a decision of the Turkish parliament and the Hungarian parliament,” Stoltenberg pointed out.
For its part, Finland does not currently intend to join NATO without its “big brother”, Sweden.
“We hope to join NATO together,” the Finnish prime minister repeated Sana Marin from Davos last week when asked about the possibility of Turkey approving her country’s membership rather than Sweden’s.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
