ANKARA, TURKEY (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country allows protests that desecrate Islamic scriptures.
Turkey, which had already withheld approval for Sweden and Finland to join the Western Military Alliance, was enraged by a series of separate demonstrations in Stockholm. In one instance, a lone anti-Muslim activist burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy and a statue of President Erdogan was hung in an unrelated protest. The Turkish government has previously called on Sweden and Finland to crack down on exiled members of Kurds and other groups Turkey considers terrorists and to allow arms shipments to Turkey.
Turkey has indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that was due to discuss her two Nordic countries joining NATO. “Don’t worry, Sweden! As long as you allow my holy book, the Quran, to be burned and torn, and you do it with the security forces, we will say ‘yes’ to your NATO membership.” I will not say, ”Erdogan said in a speech at his verdict by party lawmakers.
Swedish government officials have distanced themselves from the protests, including far-right anti-Muslim activists who burned copies of the Koran in Stockholm and Copenhagen, Denmark, while stressing that the demonstrations are protected by freedom of expression.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and applied to join NATO. All NATO members except Turkey and Hungary have ratified membership, but unanimity is required.
In a television interview on Wednesday, Erdogan suggested Sweden must 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 will be respected and that good faith measures will be taken in the fight against Islamophobia,” he said.
In Finland, which has seen no anti-Turkish or anti-Islamic demonstrations, infringing on religious peace is punishable by law, and desecrating a book held sacred by a religious community may violate that law. High. As a result, the police did not allow the Koran to be burned at the protest.
According to Finnish public broadcaster YLE, other Nordic countries do not have similar laws. The YLE reported Tuesday that a group of anti-NATO protesters had planned to burn the Quran in Helsinki last week but changed their minds after police intervened after getting wind of their plans on social media.
If NATO decides to treat the Nordic countries’ accession procedures separately, “(Turkey) will, of course, reconsider (ratify) Finland’s accession separately and more favorably,” Cavsoglu said at Estonia’s meeting in Tallinn. said at a joint press conference with his counterpart. He did not name the period after him.
Erdogan also reiterated that Turkey’s view of Finland’s accession is “positive”.
“However, I fully understand that people find burning scriptures offensive and deeply hurtful,” he said.
“Now the situation must calm down on all fronts,” Birstrom said, adding that talks with Turkey on the implementation of the deal would continue. Under a joint memorandum of understanding signed last year, Sweden and Finland agreed to address Turkey’s security concerns.
The minister also linked President Erdogan’s remarks to Turkey’s domestic politics.
Faced with tough presidential elections in May amid a recession and high inflation, President Erdogan is expected to use Sweden’s powerful arsenal to garner nationalist support.
“There is a campaign going on in Turkey right now, and a lot is being said in the campaign,” Birstrom said.
