Sweden embroiled in trapped free speech debate

by time news

The narrow path taken in the fall to give Sweden a chance to enter NATO seems permanently closed. Barely came to power, Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson booked his first trip abroad to Ankara. The Turkish Parliament is in fact the only Member State, along with the Hungarian Assembly, not to have ratified the membership application.

Promises had followed: reinforcement of Swedish intelligence (Sapö) against Kurdish groups considered “terrorists”extradition to Turkey of four Kurds, preparation of a law to criminalize membership in certain organizations…

Provocations

The efforts of the right-wing bloc, which governs with the support of the Democrats of Sweden (extreme right), have been reduced to nothing by two subversive demonstrations. The first had already not pleased Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: in mid-January, pro-Kurdish activists hung a mannequin bearing his likeness by the feet in front of Stockholm City Hall, in the manner of Mussolini in 1945.

The second provided him with a perfect pretext to slam the door of negotiations. On Saturday January 21, the anti-Islam provocateur Rasmus Paludan carried out a burning of the Koran near the Turkish embassy, ​​during a demonstration authorized by the police.

“Sweden should not expect NATO support from us,” replied Erdogan, supported by Washington, who denounced an act “repulsive”. In addition, the ambassador of the Netherlands in Ankara was summoned on Tuesday January 24 by the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs. “I wonder if Erdogan will ever approve the Swedish candidacy”, said Paul Levin, an expert on Turkey based in Stockholm.

Sweden’s entry into NATO seems to depend on the re-election or not of the outgoing president, after elections brought forward to 14th May next. In this context, Finland no longer rules out joining NATO without waiting for Sweden, even though their candidacy is supposed to be joint.

Sweden trapped

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson could not ban the demonstration without paying an exorbitant political cost, in a country where the Constitution protects the right of assembly. “A permit for a public assembly can only be refused if this is necessary to guarantee public order and security”, no matter what, police said. Proscribing the demonstration was tantamount to alienating those who would have accused him of lying down against Erdogan, the supporters of freedom of expression at all costs, and the Islamophobic extreme right.

Ulf Kristersson preferred a middle line of allowing the protest while condemning it. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But not everything that is legal is necessarily appropriate, he defended on Twitter. Burning books that are sacred to so many people is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy to all Muslims offended by what happened today in Stockholm. »

A choice that still had serious consequences, including domestically. His remarks were not to the liking of far-right leader Jimmie Akesson, whom the Prime Minister needs to form a majority in Parliament. “There is a limit to how a government should express itself,” he replied, not supporting « excuses » in the direction of “easily offended Muslims”. He promises to talk quickly with the head of government about what he considers to be “a failure vis-à-vis the Islamic forces”.

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