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14 NEWS WORLD maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 JANUARY 2023 TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Swedish authorities Monday over protests in Sweden. Turkish reactions to protests in Stockholm — in particular the burning of a Quran by a far-right figure — have shown a growing gulf between the countries as Sweden and Fin- land try to win Turkey's sup- port for their NATO member- ship. The Quran burning by anti-immigrant activist Ras- mus Paludan outside the Turk- ish Embassy in Stockholm Sat- urday sparked three days of protests across Turkey. "Those who encourage or excuse this perversion have no doubt considered its con- sequences as well. … If you are really respectful of human rights and freedoms, then you will first respect the religious beliefs of Turkey and Mus- lims. If you don't show this respect, sorry but you won't get any support from us about NATO," he said in a televised speech after a cabinet meeting. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who last week cancelled a meeting with his Swedish counterpart as the anti-Turkish demonstrations were given the go-ahead, led the political response in An- kara. He told a meeting of military commanders Monday, "They are asking us for support for the defense and security of their country but they are re- jecting our demands for the fight against terrorism." Akar went on, "It is not ac- ceptable to turn a blind eye to all kinds of despicable, dis- graceful and disgusting initia- tives against Turkey, our pres- ident, our flag, the holy Quran and our sacred values, and to remain silent and imprudent against them." He added,"If it goes [on] this way, our attitude is very clear. We expect Swe- den and Finland to fulfill their commitments by showing the power and strength of the state as soon as possible and putting an end to the disgusting and despicable initiatives." The reaction in Turkey to Paludan's stunt and other an- ti-Turkey protests, such as the hanging of an effigy of Erdogan in Stockholm a few days earli- er, has fueled worries about how Ankara will handle Swe- den and Finland's bid to join NATO, which must be ratified by all 30 NATO members. Turkey has delayed their ac- cession, arguing the Nordic countries need to tighten their approach to counter-terrorism when it comes to the Kurdis- tan Workers Party (PKK) and members of a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt. An- kara has demanded they extra- dite or deport some 130 indi- viduals it says are suspected terrorists. There was a separate pro- test by leftist and pro-Kurdish groups against Sweden's bid to join NATO in Stockholm on Saturday. Speakers stood in front of a large red banner reading, "We are all PKK." The group is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the United States and the Europe- an Union. On the streets of Turkey's cities, chanting protesters railed against the burning of the Quran. Riot police stood guard be- hind metal barriers at the Swedish consulate building on Istanbul's Istiklal Street on Saturday as some 250 people gathered. Protesters set fie to the Swedish flag and a pho- tograph of Paludan. Others waved green flags carrying the Islamic proclamation of faith and a banner reading, "We condemn Sweden's state-sup- ported Islamophobia." Con- sulate staff had taped a hand- written sign to a window that read, "We do not share that book-burning idiot's view!" "Sweden's hostile attitude to- wards Muslims and our coun- try is not limited to this," Talat Yavuz of the Confederation of Public Servants' Trade Unions said at a follow-up demonstra- tion Monday. He added, "There have been other similar incidents re- cently. In Stockholm, which has turned into a cell of some terrorist organizations, exces- sive actions were carried out against our president and the Swedish authorities remained unbelievably silent." In a strongly worded state- ment, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the "vile attack on our holy book, the Quran," saying, "Permitting this anti-Islam act that targets Muslims and insults our sa- cred values under the guise of freedom of expression is com- pletely unacceptable. This is an outright hate crime." It went on, "This despicable act is yet another example of the alarming level that Islam- ophobia and racist and dis- criminatory movements have reached in Europe." The demonstration was also condemned by other Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted that free- dom of expression was vital for democracy but denounced dis- respect for the Quran, saying, "Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespect- ful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has hap- pened in Stockholm today." A close associate of Turkish mafia figure Alaattin Cakici, who is closely tied to Erdo- gan's ultranationalist political ally Devlet Bahceli, threatened attacks on Swedish interests in the wake of the Quran burn- ing. Uzeyir Cakmaktas tweeted that "armed [and] unarmed actions against Sweden and Sweden's missions abroad will not be counted as a terrorist attack." Both Cakmaktas and Cakici are linked to the far- right Grey Wolves movement, which has a record of political violence in Turkey and Eu- rope. Even before Paludan's ac- tions, Turkey reacted strongly to Swedish authorities grant- ing permission for the pro- tests to be held, summoning the Swedish ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara on Friday. A visit by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson was can- celled, with Akar saying in a statement that such meetings had "become meaningless." He said he had discussed the Swedish protests with Erdogan and had passed on Ankara's re- action to Jonson at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Con- tact Group on Friday. Erdogan says Sweden lost NATO bid support as Turkey fumes at Quran burning