The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Swedish Ambassador Staffan Herrstrom because of the action of the Kurdish organization Rojava Committee. They hung up a shivering effigy that symbolized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador on January 12 because of a demonstration in Stockholm during which an effigy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hung upside down. The organizers of the action “Committee of Rojava” called Erdogan a dictator and urged him to resign.
Details of the scandalous action
The “Rojava Committee” calls itself “a network of solidarity and exchange with the revolutionary movement throughout Kurdistan”. Turkish media call them supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.
They organized an action against Erdogan in Stockholm and hung his effigy upside down, which the Turkish side did not like very much.
History shows how often dictators end up, so, for the sake of everyone, Erdogan: take a chance and retire so as not to end up upside down in Taksim Square (Istanbul's main square – Channel 24), the Rojava Committee tweeted.
Kurds hang effigy of Erdogan in Stockholm / Rojava Committee on Twitter
Turkey handed a note to the Swedish Ambassador
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish Ambassador to Staffan Herrstrom. The ministry handed him a note from Ankara. Turkey said it expects Sweden to cooperate and identify those responsible for the incident. This was reported to journalists by a Turkish diplomatic source.
Our expectation was underlined that those responsible for the incident should be identified, the necessary processes carried out, and Sweden should fulfill its promises, the Turkish interlocutor said.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara, but declined to provide details of the incident.
More than just a scarecrow: why the Kurds are a wedge between Sweden and Turkey
- According to Turkish law, the Kurdish Workers' Party is a terrorist group, since in 1880 it launched a war against Ankara. The country considers them followers of the Kurdish militia YPG (People's Defense Units). And the Rojava Committee, which staged the rally with a scarecrow, Turkey also calls supporters of the Kurdish Workers' Party.
- Sweden, along with many other NATO countries, in particular the US, supports the YPG in the fight against the Islamic State.
- In fact, this was the reason why the country is blocking Sweden's entry into NATO. Turkey demands that the Swedes close down the activities of Kurdish organizations, freeze their assets, close websites and media, and prohibit the display of symbols. Among the demands are the deportation and extradition of persons suspected of having links with terrorism.
- Stockholm's movement towards membership in the North Atlantic Treaty makes it necessary to reconsider the attitude towards the people's army of the Kurds. In November, the Swedish Foreign Minister said that Stockholm would now keep its distance from the Kurdish-Syrian YPG militia.
