At least three separate protests took place in Stockholm, on Saturday (January 21), one of them included a demonstration outside the Turkish embassy against Turkiye during which right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan who staged the event reportedly gave an hour-long speech against Islam and immigration and subsequently set fire to Islam's holy book, Quran. On the other hand, a group of pro-Turkish demonstrators also held a rally outside the embassy in Stockholm.
Another group in Sweden, Kurdish Democratic Society Centre took to the streets in protest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Sweden’s bid for NATO. Notably, all three protests had permits from the police given the country’s strong freedom of speech laws. Meanwhile, in Istanbul, some 200 protesters condemned Danish political party Stram Kurs’ Paludan for his action and burnt Sweden’s flag.
The recent incidents between the two countries come amid Sweden’s bid to join NATO for which it requires Turkiye’s backing. Notably, Ankara has previously blocked both Sweden and Finland from joining the military alliance.