Reuters
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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that a planned visit to Ankara by his Swedish counterparts had been canceled after Swedish authorities allowed protests in Stockholm.
Protests in Stockholm on Saturday against Turkey and Sweden’s bid to join NATO, including the burning of copies of the Koran, sharply increased tensions with Turkey.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this vile attack on our scriptures … this anti-Islamic campaign that targets Muslims and insults our sacred values under the guise of freedom of expression. It is completely unacceptable to authorize the conduct,” said Turkey’s foreign ministry.
The statement was issued after anti-immigrant politicians around the far right burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy. He called on all countries to take concrete measures against Islamophobia.
Another protest was held in the city in support of the Kurds and against Sweden’s participation in NATO.Pro-Turkish demonstrators also held a rally outside the embassy. All three events had police clearance.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Birstrom said the Islamophobic provocations were appalling.
Birstrom tweeted: “Sweden has broad freedom of expression, but that does not mean that the Swedish government or myself endorse the views expressed.
The burning of the Quran was carried out by Rasmus Pardan, leader of the Danish far-right party Hardline. Pardan, who also holds Swedish citizenship, has demonstrated several times in the past and burned the Koran.
Paludan could not be reached by email for comment. A permit he obtained from the police said his protest was against Islam and what it called Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to influence freedom of expression in Sweden. ing.
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, have condemned the Koran burning. “Saudi Arabia seeks to spread the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but all 30 member states must approve their bids. Turkey says Sweden in particular must first take a clear stance against those who see terrorists, mainly Kurdish extremists and their groups, responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.
At a demonstration to protest Sweden’s NATO bid and show support for the Kurds, the speaker said, “We are all the PKK,” referring to the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party in Turkey, Sweden and the United States. He stood in front of a large red flag that read, ‘And addressed hundreds of pro-Kurdish and left-wing supporters.
“We will continue to oppose Sweden’s application to NATO,” Thomas Petterson, spokesman for the Alliance Against NATO and one of the organizers of the demonstrations, told Reuters.
Police said the situation was calm at all three demonstrations.
Earlier on Saturday, Turkey said it had canceled a planned visit to Ankara by the Swedish defense minister due to lack of measures to limit protests.
“At this point, the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson to Turkey on January 27 became meaningless. That is why we have canceled the visit,” said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
