NATO: Swedish vote conditioning Turkey's support passes to Parliament
The Swedish government for taking office, in Stockholm, on October 18, with Parliament in the background.
AP - Jonas Ekstromer/TT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Swedish Parliament votes this Wednesday, November 16 for a change in the Constitution, in order to harden the fight against terrorism, a requirement of Turkey so that it validates the entry of Sweden into NATO.
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With our correspondent in Stockholm,
Carlotta Morteo
The close-up photo of the hand of the new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, visibly crushed by that of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had made the rounds of the press, following their meeting in Ankara.
“
How far is Sweden willing to be humiliated?
When will our government be asked to defend our values?
asks an editorial writer for
Dagens Nyheter
, a major Swedish daily.
The constitutional amendment should in particular make it easier for Stockholm to prosecute members of the Kurdish PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, accused by Ankara of being behind the attack in Istanbul on Sunday.
The amendment, which aims to "
restrict the freedom of association of groups engaged in terrorism
", is due to come into force on January 1, 2023.
”Ulf Kristersson måste sluta låta sig förnedras av Turkiet” • DN:s Alex Schulman om statsministers möte med Erdogan.https://t.co/ls8qZVrN52 pic.twitter.com/qTjm0lLWDh
— Dagens Nyheter (@dagensnyheter) November 14, 2022
Part of the press and the opposition consider that it is an act of compromise too many.
Because if there is consensus on the need for Sweden to join the Atlantic Alliance, this legislative concession, tailor-made for Turkey, makes people cringe.
►Read again: Turkey: a deadly attack strikes Istanbul in the heart
The Kurdish community in Sweden is concerned to see on the extradition lists the names of people labeled as "terrorists" by Ankara, who would have simply shared content on social networks from the PKK.
The far left party, too, considers that what falls under “terrorism” is too poorly defined and that this constitutional change could harm freedom of expression.
He is the only party that should vote against.
Something to delight the Turkish president, expected in Sweden at the end of the month.
►Read also: Sweden's NATO membership: will the country extradite Bülent Kenes to Turkey?
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