Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstroem said Thursday after his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara that spreading Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) propaganda and supporting its activities will be a crime on Swedish soil.
In the face of mounting pressure from the Turkish government for Sweden to comply with its conditions in exchange for the lifting of the veto that would allow it to join NATO, the Swedish minister said that Stockholm will make «propaganda about terrorism a crime in the country».
«This will be even more far-reaching (…) Supporting or promoting terrorism will be criminalized. For example, supporting PKK activities on Swedish soil will also be a crime,» he explained, according to reports from the Anatolia news agency. «We are doing our best to comply with the pact and implement it,» he said, referring to the agreement reached by the parties for Turkey to lift the veto, which includes reforming anti-terrorism laws and complying with extradition requests made by Turkey.
Billstroem stressed that both countries share an «intense cooperation in the fight against terrorism» and pointed out that «it is necessary to take some measures before the pact is fully implemented».
«The message I want to convey to the Turkish minister is very clear: Sweden keeps its promises. We take this agreement very seriously, every paragraph. We are starting to take action on it and we will continue to do so,» he stressed.
In this regard, he stressed that Sweden has an «independent» judicial system and added that measures have been taken since the agreement was signed. «The PKK may not be a big threat to Sweden, but it is definitely a major threat to Turkey. As the Swedish government, we take it seriously. We have to look at the overall context, not each case individually. When the new legislation comes into force, changes will be made to the Constitution,» he explained.
The Turkish minister, for his part, pointed out that the process «will be long» and that «it is far from over», while insisting that it is necessary to «take more solidarity measures» with Ankara in the fight against terrorism, given that Sweden «continues to be an attractive place for PKK members».
The Turkish government continues to demand the extradition of dozens of suspected terrorists, including journalist Bulent Kenes, who lives in Sweden in exile. This week, Cavusoglu himself criticized the Swedish Supreme Court’s decision to reject the extradition of the journalist, labeled a «terrorist» by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt.
For the court, part of the offenses with which he is charged are not covered by the Swedish Penal Code and that they may be «political offenses». Meanwhile, Turkey continues to block Sweden and Turkey’s accession to NATO until they do not comply with its demands.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
