The Quran burning incident and the PKK protests hurt Sweden’s chances to join NATO - experts
Sweden, a Scandinavian country known for its spruce trees, breathtaking views and a long history of avoiding sides in international conflicts, is now desperately seeking to become part of NATO as it confronts Russia’s war in Ukraine.
NATO's second-largest army comes from Türkiye. Sweden’s soft approach towards the Marxist-Leninist terrorist group PKK, which regularly takes out rallies in Stockholm, has been a point of major concern for Türkiye. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, attend a signing ceremony of a memorandum on the Nordic countries’ NATO bids in Madrid, Spain on June 28, 2022.
Then last week, Swedish authorities allowed Danish far-right politician, Rasmus Polidan, to burn a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, sparking condemnations from across the Muslim world. Sweden justifies allowing actions such as desecrating the Quran as part of freedom of speech, but anti-racism activists see the act as a pure provocation. In April, Paludan’s burning of a copy of the Quran even led to demonstrations across Sweden.
“They do want to get into NATO, for example, but are not prepared to do what is necessary to achieve that because it is likely to involve tensions and conflict. I see this so very often at all different levels in Swedish society,” Simons tells TRT World, adding politicians in the Nordic state lack professionalism and diplomatic maturity to be part of NATO.
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