Turkiye cancels Swedish defence minister’s visit over protest planned by right-wing leader
Swedish defence minister visit to Turkey cancelled over planned protest.
The Turkish government on Saturday cancelled the upcoming visit of the Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson in the wake of right-wing extremist planning a demonstration in Stockholm.Turkiye expressed its anger over the permission granted to Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish-Danish politician who had sparked riots with his anti-Islamist actions across Sweden last year, to stage a demonstration in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
A day after the Swedish ambassador was summoned over the issue, Turkiye announced that the Swedish defence minister's visit aimed at resolving objections raised by Ankara over Sweden's bid to join the NATO alliance was being cancelled.
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"At this point, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson's visit to Turkiye on January 27 has lost its significance and meaning, so we cancelled the visit," stated Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar.
Paludan has claimed that he intends to "burn the Koran", which is a holy book of Islam while holding the protest on Saturday.
In April 2022, the announcement made by Paludan of burning the Koran sparked riots in Sweden.
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'Not freedom but modern barbarism'
Turkiye's presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin on Saturday condemned the protests planned by Rasmus Paludan, calling it a "clear crime of hatred".
"Allowing this action despite all our warnings is encouraging hate crimes and Islamophobia," Kalin tweeted.
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"The attack on sacred values is not freedom but modern barbarism,” he added.
On Friday, Sweden's ambassador had been summoned by Turkiye to "condemn this provocative action which is clearly a hate crime — in strongest terms," stated a diplomatic source.
The ambassador was told by the officials of the foreign ministry that the permission granted by Sweden for staging the protest, under the pretext of protecting democratic values, was "unacceptable", added the source.
(With inputs from agencies)
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