The PKK, branded as terrorists, has become a major obstacle in Sweden’s NATO application. On several occasions, Turkey has criticized Sweden for protecting terrorists and has therefore decided that Sweden does not belong in the alliance.
To TT, Säpo confirms that the PKK deals with terrorist financing in Sweden:
– I won’t go into exact sums, but it is a substantial amount, says Susanna Trehörning, deputy head of counter-terrorism at Säpo.
But the fact that Säpo chooses to go out with this information right now is no coincidence – that is what Paul Levin, the director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University, claims:
– It should be seen as a result of the NATO negotiations. After all, Sweden concluded an agreement with Finland and Turkey. It states that Sweden and Finland undertake to take more active measures against terrorist organizations, among them the PKK. This is an attempt by the government to focus on this and respond to the Turkish criticism, he says.
No threat to Sweden
It is unclear how many PKK sympathizers there are in Sweden, but here they do not pose an attack threat according to Säpo:
– On the other hand, we see that they are conducting a supporting activity, Trehörning tells TT.
Hear the Turkey expert’s analysis in the player above.