Advertisement
Nato
WorldEurope

Anti-Nato protest sweeps Stockholm despite Ankara’s warning

  • Hundreds of protesters in Stockholm on Sunday demonstrated against Sweden’s Nato bid and new anti-terror legislation
  • Turkey’s President Erdogan has so far blocked Sweden’s Nato membership, accusing Stockholm of being a haven for Kurdish activists Turkey considers ‘terrorists’

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
8
A Nato flag. On Sunday, hundreds of protesters in Stockholm demonstrated against Sweden’s Nato bid. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS
Agence France-Presse
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Stockholm city centre on Sunday to demonstrate against Sweden’s Nato bid and new anti-terror legislation, despite Ankara’s objections.

“They are after the Kurds in Sweden,” Tomas Pettersson, spokesman for the Alliance Against Nato, told Agence France-Presse at the protest.

He added that the idea behind the law is “to have an arrest and a trial and a victim” so that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “will then let Sweden into Nato”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Dolmabahce Office in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday. Photo: Press Office of the Presidency of Turkey / AFP / Handout
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Dolmabahce Office in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday. Photo: Press Office of the Presidency of Turkey / AFP / Handout
The new law that came into effect on June 1 criminalises “participation in a terrorist organisation” as part of Sweden’s effort to strengthen anti-terror legislation, a key demand from Turkey to approve Stockholm’s stalled Nato membership bid.
Advertisement
Ankara voiced its discontent earlier this week regarding the scheduled protest – titled “No to Nato, No Erdogan Laws in Sweden” – organised by groups close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is outlawed by Turkey.

On Sunday, the protesters were observed waving numerous PKK flags, along with signs stating: “No to Nato.”

Advertisement

A spokesman for the Turkish presidency on Tuesday said it was “completely unacceptable that PKK terrorists continue to operate freely in Sweden” and urged Swedish authorities to block them from demonstrating on Sunday.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x