After video of Erdogan on ropes, Ankara summons Swedish Ambassador
4 Min Read
A Kurdish group in Stockholm posted a video of a dummy depicting Erdogan hanging from its legs by a rope and comparing his fate to that of Italy's Mussolini.
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The building of the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara
Following a video posted by a Kurdish group in Sweden depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hanging from a rope by his legs, Turkey summons the Swedish Ambassador on Thursday to convey a message of anger regarding the incident.
The Rojava Committee of Sweden compared in a tweet on Wednesday Erdogan to Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist leader.
Mussolini was executed and hung by his legs toward the last days of World War II in 1945.
The Kurdish group added a text above the video saying that "history shows how dictators end up," while pictures of the execution of Mussolini were shown along with a dummy depicting Erdogan hanging from a rope.
"It is time for Erdogan to resign. Take this chance and quit so that you don't end up hanging upside down on (Istanbul's) Taksim Square," the group said.
The video came as Sweden is being pressured by NATO's Turkey to crack down on Kurdish groups in return for Ankara's approval for Stockholm to access the coalition.
Sweden, in addition to Finland, still requires Turkey and Hungary's approval for their NATO accession bid to pass.
Turkey is one of the two NATO member states to oppose Sweden and Finland's membership ambitions, accusing the Nordic countries of sponsoring and hosting members of Kurdish organizations.
Earlier in December, media outlets reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg that until Finland and Sweden take the necessary "steps", Turkey will not ratify their membership of NATO.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last December that Turkey expects “not kind words but concrete steps” to address its security concerns from Sweden and Finland, in reference to Ankara's desire for PKK members' extradition.
While Turkey insists that Sweden and Finland hand up a number of Kurdish people before joining NATO, Stockholm has turned the tables, claiming that a dozen hardcore Swedish criminals are hidden in Turkey.
Read more: Swedes reject legal concessions to win Turkey’s NATO assent: Poll
Turkey's presidential chief spokesperson stated that Ankara condemns the video "in the strongest possible terms."
"We urge the Swedish authorities to take necessary steps against terrorist groups without further delay," Fahrettin Altun said in a tweet.
Altun's tweet came in response to a statement tweeted by the foreign minister of Sweden, Tobias Billstrom, denouncing the video.
Sweden supports "an open debate about politics", however, it "distances itself from threats and hatred against political representatives", Billstrom said in the tweet.
"Portraying a popularly elected president as being executed outside city hall is abhorrent," he added.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry accused Stockholm of neglecting its past commitments and demanded that the "perpetrators of this action are found."
Last month, Sweden's Supreme Court ruled against the extradition of an exiled Turkish journalist, Bulent Kenes, going against one of Ankara's key demands for Stockholm's NATO membership accession.
The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, stated earlier on Sunday that his country cannot meet all of Turkey's demands as a condition for its support but is confident that Turkey will ultimately approve Sweden's accession bid to join NATO.
"We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don’t know when,” he said, stressing that the decision will depend on internal Turkish politics, as well as “Sweden’s capacity to show its seriousness," and hinting at a possible change following the coming elections in Turkey.
