Global Courant 2023-04-19 07:26:58
GOTENBURG, Sweden
Members of the PKK terrorist organization hung banners in many places in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Tuesday.
Two of the banners were hung in front of the city hall, while the others were hung at strategic points in the city center. Local authorities allowed the banners to hang for two days before being removed.
Considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, the USA and many other countries, the PKK has been waging war against the Turkish state for over 40 years.
Hanging up banners, the group said they were protesting “the Swedish government’s proposal to introduce a new crime into the Terrorist Offenses Act, making joining a terrorist organization a crime”.
Turkey demands that Sweden extradite those linked to the PKK in order to allow the Scandinavian country to join NATO.
Former Swedish Ambassador to Turkey Michael Sahlin told a local radio station that this incident affected relations between Sweden and Turkey.
“Another drawback of Sweden’s application to NATO is another case that confirms Sweden’s underestimation of the PKK problem.”
“Sweden’s application for NATO membership is at a disadvantage, and there is further evidence that people in Turkey think we are underestimating the problem with the PKK’s presence and activities in Sweden,” Sahlin said.
“We take the unauthorized use of our flagpoles seriously and have removed the flags as soon as possible. Reported to the police,” Martin Östberg, director of security and contingency planning at the city government office in Gothenburg, told local radio station SR.
“If this becomes a recurring problem, we will have to review additional security measures,” he added.
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