Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Wednesday that Turkey will not allow Sweden to join NATO as long as the Scandinavian country allows protests such as the burning of the Quran.
Turkey, which has already delayed approving Sweden and Finland’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, protested vehemently against the recent demonstrations in Stockholm.
In one case, an anti-Islamic activist burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy, while in an unrelated protest, a puppet representing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the target of a symbolic execution.
Ankara has demanded that Stockholm extradite Kurdish refugees classified as “terrorists” by Erdogan’s government who allow it to sell weapons to Turkey.
“Sweden, don’t worry. As long as you allow my holy book, the Koran, to be burned and torn apart (…) we will not say ‘yes’ to your joining NATO”he stressed in a speech to his party’s deputies.
Swedish authorities have distanced themselves from the protests and on Tuesday Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson denounced the activists organizing the demonstrations as “useful idiots” for foreign powers seeking to harm the Scandinavian country as it tries to join the BORN.
Kristersson revealed on Tuesday that he had been in contact with UN Secretary General António Guterres, the president of Finland, also a candidate to join NATO, and prime ministers and politicians from Muslim countries and Muslim organizations in recent days.
“In my contacts I have made it clear that freedom of expression is a fundamental part of Swedish democracy. But what is legal is not always appropriate”he underlined.
But Erdogan suggested on Wednesday that Sweden will have to stop the Quran burning protests.
“Hate crimes against Muslims under the guise of freedom of expression are unacceptable. We hope that the beliefs of all groups are respected and sincere measures are taken in the fight against Islamophobia.”the Turkish head of state emphasized to state broadcaster TRT.
In Finland, on the other hand, violating religious peace is a criminal offense and desecrating a book considered sacred by a religious community would likely violate that law. As a result, the police did not allow a protest related to the burning of the Qur’an.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused Sweden and Finland to end their military non-alignment in 2022 and apply for NATO membership.
The accession of the two Nordic countries requires the unanimity of the current 30 member countries of the Atlantic Alliance.
The incidents in European cities were denounced and condemned by the governments involved and by other Western countries, but this was not enough to stop Turkey’s outrage.
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait also condemn such acts.
Source: DN
