“Sweden must learn to bend”.
Mikail Yüksel, party leader of the Nyan party, thinks so – who in the Turkish media called on Turkey to make stricter demands that Koran burnings be banned in Sweden.
– You can’t eat the cake and keep it. If you allow hatred of minority groups in this country, then you cannot say that I am sabotaging the process. Then you have to take measures, he tells DN.
With its 0.4 percent in the last Riksdag election, Nyans became the largest party outside the Riksdag. The party got a seat in the municipal councils in Karlskrona and Botkyrka. The heart issues of working for minority groups are motivated, among other things, by a ban on burning the Koran.
Mikail Yüksel, who himself was born in Turkey, says in an interview with the regime-loyal newspaper Sabah that Turkey should take advantage of its golden negotiating position in the NATO issue to put pressure on Sweden.
– Clearly, legislation is needed. Such actions cannot be seen as an expression of freedom of expression. The Swedish government is determined to join NATO and needs Turkey’s support. By pushing, Ankara can help prevent hate crimes such as burning the Koran, he told the newspaper.
When TV4 Nyheterna contacts Nyans for an interview, they want certain guarantees.
The answer: “Does not do interviews with TV4”
“Hello, we have not been doing interviews with TV4 for some time now. But we can think about this if you promise a fair publication without distortion and negative headlines”.
After the answer that no promises can be made in advance and that TV4 Nyheterna follows the rules of press ethics, the answer is short:
“Hello, we decline”.
In an interview with DN he says that it would not mean that Sweden bows down to an autocratic regime.
– I do not think that Erdogan is an anti-democrat, and Sweden must learn to bend. The world does not revolve around Sweden and if you want to get something, you have to give something back.
“Shown that they lack ability”
Ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, all member states have approved Sweden’s NATO application, except for Turkey and Hungary. The Swedish government claims to have met the requirements decided during the NATO summit in Madrid a year ago. Something that is not shared by Turkey.
Mikail Yüksel himself has offered the government to help with the negotiations.
– If they want my help to negotiate with Turkey, they are welcome to hire me. So far, the government has shown that they lack the ability to deal with Ankara, he tells DN.
By turning to Turkey, he hopes to get help in combating the oppression that, according to him, Swedish Muslims are subjected to. In addition to Koran burnings, he paints the proposal to ban international funding of mosques in Sweden as proof of this. He also warns of a future veil ban in Swedish primary schools.
– The situation of Muslims in Sweden in general should be addressed during the negotiations, he says to DN.
Jomshof: “Traitor”
Rickard Jomshof (SD) was quick to express criticism over Mikail Yüksel’s statements.
“Islamist Mikail Yüksel acts like the traitor he is and cries out in the Turkish regime media while asking the country to act against Swedish freedom of expression,” he writes in a post on Twitter.
According to Jomshof, Yüksel’s aim is to “transform Sweden into an Islamist country”. He emphasizes that Sweden should not bow to Turkey’s demands. On the contrary.
“Instead, we must proudly stretch ourselves and fight for our democracy, which is currently threatened by a motley group of groups and individuals who are doing everything to curtail democracy and limit freedom of expression”.
Nor did Mattias Karlsson (SD) hold back with his criticism of Mikail Yüksel.
“There’s nothing bending tamejpan here! Adapt or go home!”, he writes on Twitter.
The Ordinance Act should be changed
The Ordinance Act should be amended so that actions such as Koran burnings can be blocked with regard to the security of the kingdom. Jonas Trolle, head of the Center against Violent Extremism, believes so. As recently as June, the Court of Appeal gave the police homework for rejecting applications, as concrete, specific threats are currently required to deny permission. But now the head of the authority wants the public order law to be extended to also cover threats to national security.