Sweden slams ‘sabotage’ of Nato bid after Erdogan effigy hanged in ‘mock execution’
- A mannequin resembling the Turkish president was hung upside down from a lamp post during a Kurdish protest in Stockholm, drawing an angry backlash from Ankara
- The incident heightens tensions with Turkey, which has withheld its approval for Sweden’s application to join Nato pending a crackdown on Kurdish militants
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday denounced a protest by Kurds in central Stockholm, where an effigy of Turkey’s president was hung from a lamp post, as an act of “sabotage” against Sweden’s bid to join Nato.
The protest outside City Hall on Wednesday drew an angry backlash from Turkey, a Nato member which had already held off on approving Sweden’s application to become part of the Western military alliance until the government in Stockholm satisfies its demands.
The speaker of Turkey’s parliament, Mustafa Sentop, cancelled a visit by Andreas Norlén, the speaker of the Swedish parliament, that was expected next Tuesday. Turkish lawmakers need to ratify Sweden’s Nato application for the Nordic nation to become a member.
Turkey has made its approval conditional on Stockholm cracking down on exiled Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers a threat to its national security.
The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador on Thursday over the Stockholm demonstration.
Kristersson condemned the incident involving the effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.