Published: Just now
A doll representing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was hung by the feet outside the city hall in Stockholm has created new tensions between Sweden and Turkey.
The government reacted strongly against the action, but SD’s party leader Jimmie Åkesson says that it is still free to criticize the country.
The relationship between Sweden and Turkey – which has not yet approved Sweden’s NATO application – has deteriorated further since the doll was hung outside the city hall in Stockholm last week.
A spokesperson for Erdogan demanded that those responsible “be held accountable” and from the Swedish side, among others, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) have come out and condemned the act, which in turn led to them receiving criticism for not to stand up for Swedish freedom of expression.
A police libel complaint filed about the doll was quickly dropped by prosecutors who did not believe a crime had been committed, further angering Turkey.
Hate crime
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu described the decision as “extremely absurd” at a press conference on Tuesday and called the hanging a racist hate crime.
– If Sweden imagines that it can mislead us with these puns, I would like to say that it is deceiving itself, he said according to the AP news agency.
Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Åkesson says he understands the Swedish government’s strong reactions to the action, but emphasizes that nothing criminal has happened.
– It is clear that it can seem and be experienced as irresponsible in this sensitive situation to act in that way, so I fully understand that the government reacts with force. At the same time, nothing criminal has been committed and it should not be criminal. You have the right to express your opinion, even about Erdogan and Turkey, he told TT after Wednesday’s party leader debate in the Riksdag.
TT: Do you think you can criticize Turkey during the NATO process?
– I have done that on several occasions and I think you should be able to do that, especially as a member of the Swedish Parliament. I have had views on democratic flaws in Turkish society and on Erdogan as a political leader.
Not democracy
TT: Is Turkey a democracy?
– No, Turkey is not a democracy in the sense that we imagine a Western democracy, it is not.
More irritations from Turkey can be expected since the newspaper Flamman initiated a satirical drawing competition of Erdogan. The pro-government Turkish newspaper Sabah described it on Tuesday as “another scandal”.
In the Turkish media, President Erdogan has also repeated the demand that Sweden extradite people in order for Turkey to approve the NATO application. Earlier he said that Sweden would deport 73 people, but this weekend the number was increased to 130.
Turkey has previously stated that they will wait until this summer before it can be relevant to ratify the NATO application.