Turkey Calls Al-Quran Burning In Sweden Not Related To Freedom Of Expression

Turkish Presidential Director of media and communications, Fahrettin Altun. (photo: Twitter

JAKARTA - Media and communications director of the Turkish Presidency, Fahrettin Altun,  emphasized that the burning of copies of the Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden "has nothing to do with freedom".

"There is a big difference between freedom of expression and hate speech. This incident promotes violence against Muslims, especially Muslims in Sweden," Altun said in an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.

The burning of the Muslim holy book by the leader of Sweden's right-wing party, Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, on Saturday, January 21, sparked widespread criticism from Arab countries and the Islamic world.

He also explained that the cancellation of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's upcoming visit to Turkey was Ankara's response to the permission granted by the Swedish government for the Quran burning.

"There is no point in meeting if Stockholm does not take the Ankara issue seriously," he said, as quoted from Antara.

Regarding Sweden's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Altun said that Turkey supports the expansion of NATO and is not against Sweden's participation in the organization in principle.

"Sweden has taken several steps to address Ankara's concerns, but I can say that they are not enough to meet all demands," he said, noting that Turkey was asking Sweden to keep its promises.

Sweden and Finland officially volunteered to join NATO in May 2022, in response to Russia's war in Ukraine which started on February 24, 2022.

But Turkey, which has been a member of NATO for more than 70 years, expressed objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Last June, Turkey and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to address security issues raised by Ankara, thus paving the way for their membership in the alliance.