STOCKHOLM, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Protests in Stockholm on Saturday towards Turkey and Sweden’s bid to affix NATO, including the burning of a duplicate of the Koran, sharply heightened tensions with Turkey at a time when the Nordic nation wants Ankara’s backing to realize entry to the army alliance.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile attack on our holy book … Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated.
Its assertion was issued after an anti-immigrant politician from the far-right fringe burned a duplicate of the Koran close to the Turkish Embassy. The Turkish ministry urged Sweden to take needed actions towards the perpetrators and invited all nations to take concrete steps towards Islamophobia.
A separate protest befell in town supporting Kurds and towards Sweden’s bid to affix NATO. A bunch of pro-Turkish demonstrators additionally held a rally outdoors the embassy. All three occasions had police permits.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom stated that Islamophobic provocations had been appalling.
“Sweden has a far-reaching freedom of expression, but it does not imply that the Swedish Government, or myself, support the opinions expressed,” Billstrom stated on Twitter.
The Koran-burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, chief of Danish far-right political get together Hard Line. Paludan, who additionally has Swedish citizenship, has held various demonstrations in the previous the place he has burned the Koran.
Paludan couldn’t instantly be reached by electronic mail for a remark. In the allow he obtained from police, it says his protest was held towards Islam and what it known as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s try to affect freedom of expression in Sweden.
Several Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait denounced the Koran-burning. “Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated in an announcement.
Sweden and Finland utilized final yr to affix NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine however all 30 member states should approve their bids. Turkey has stated Sweden in specific should first take a clearer stance towards what it sees as terrorists, primarily Kurdish militants and a gaggle it blames for a 2016 coup try.
At the demonstration to protest Sweden’s NATO bid and to indicate help for Kurds, audio system stood in entrance of a giant crimson banner studying “We are all PKK”, referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party that’s outlawed in Turkey, Sweden, and the United States amongst different nations, and addressed a number of hundred pro-Kurdish and left-wing supporters.
“We will continue our opposition to the Swedish NATO application,” Thomas Pettersson, spokesperson for Alliance Against NATO and one among organizers of the demonstration, advised Reuters.
Police stated the scenario was calm in any respect three demonstrations.
In Istanbul, individuals in a gaggle of round 200 protesters set hearth to a Swedish flag in entrance of the Swedish consulate in response to the burning of the Koran.
SWEDISH MINISTER’S VISIT CANCELLED
Earlier on Saturday, Turkey stated that on account of lack of measures to limit protests, it had cancelled a deliberate go to to Ankara by the Swedish defence minister.
Jonson stated individually that he and Akar had met on Friday throughout a gathering of Western allies in Germany and had determined to postpone the deliberate assembly.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar stated he had mentioned with Erdogan the dearth of measures to limit protests in Sweden towards Turkey and had conveyed Ankara’s response to Jonson on the sidelines of a gathering of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
“It is unacceptable not to make a move or react to these (protests). The necessary things needed to be done, measures should have been taken,” Akar stated, in response to an announcement by Turkish Defence Ministry.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had already summoned Sweden’s ambassador on Friday over the deliberate protests.
Finland and Sweden signed a three-way settlement with Turkey in 2022 aimed toward overcoming Ankara’s objections to their membership of NATO. Sweden says it has fulfilled its a part of the memorandum however Turkey is demanding extra, including the extradition of 130 individuals it deems to be terrorists.
Reporting by Omer Berberoglu, Ezgi Erkoyun and Bulent Usta in Istanbul and Niklas Pollard and Simon Johnson in Stockholm
Additional reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz in Cairo
Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun and Niklas Pollard
Editing by Toby Chopra and Frances Kerry
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.