He stressed that Ankara strongly condemned permission for a demonstration in Stockholm by groups linked to Turkey’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party immediately after “a cowardly attack on the Holy Quran was allowed.”
“This is a clear violation of the tripartite memorandum obligation, which Sweden signed, to prevent the propaganda of terrorist organizations,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
The department added that a statement of commitment to the obligations and its implementation are two different things. The ministry stressed that Turkey expects from Sweden “concrete and effective steps, in addition to rhetoric, especially in the fight against terrorism.”
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the Quran burning allowed by the Swedish authorities “despicable and racist.” He stressed that “the expression of hatred, xenophobia and racism has nothing to do with freedom of expression.”
The Turkish authorities subsequently canceled a visit scheduled for January 27 by Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson. According to the Turkish Minister of National Defense, Hulusi Akar, in the context of the anti-Turkish protests in Stockholm, “the importance and meaning of the visit no longer matter.” The visit of the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Andreas Norlen, scheduled for next week, has also been cancelled.
