In Sweden, a Kurdish member is also watching like milk on fire what his country will do as a concession to prevent Turkey from using its veto to block its application for NATO membership.
His name is Amineh Kakabaveh. He is a former peshmerga, he is an Iranian Kurdish fighter at the age of 13… An independent member of the Swedish Parliament, he presents his vote as a means of pressuring the Swedish government so that it does not give up blackmailed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan : his voice is important for social-democratic minority government.
Amineh Kakabaveh is a woman in a hurry, a ball of energy.
The forty -year -old had a fever when he welcomed us into the Swedish Parliament between two appointments, apologized for being late, and when he led us quickly, crossed the cafeteria to fill two glasses of water. while on the road, in a large room where our interview will take place.
This is the best room, the room where the meetings of the President of Parliament are heldhe launches, embracing the stare area with a big smile.
Amineh Kakabaveh is one of approximately 100,000 Kurds living in Sweden. His smile becomes teasing when he makes sure he represents all that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hates.
He stands for that crazy to see a woman, a Kurdish, a socialist defending the rights of her community and human rights, here. In this House which he entered 14 years ago; at that time, it was under the flag of left party (the Left Party).
For President Erdogan, the Swedish Parliament is a haven for terrorists, which Stockholm strongly denies.
And among the demands he is on Sweden as proof that it shares security concerns and to obtain endorsement for its membership inNATOthe Turkish government is returning to the case with its requests for the extradition – always denied until now – of people suspected of being linked to the Kurdistan Workers ’Party (PKK).
The Turkish state has been at war with this separatist party for decades. He considers it a terrorist organization, like Sweden in that regard. The insurgency of the Kurdish armed movement and its repression by the authorities have claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984.
Nervous
Swedish MP Amineh Kakabaveh pointed out that the list of people requested from Sweden includes Kurds, but also Turks: parliamentarians, authors, or even reporters. This list is spreading especially in the media.
There are many concerns, for example among Kurdish politicians, Kurdo Baksi confirmed. Sitting in front of a very strong and sweet tea, the Kurdish writer and journalist, who is a native of Batman (southeastern Turkey) explains that he often receives calls from worried friends, even if their name is on the list. or nothing.
Mr. asks us. Please do not specify the restaurant where this interview took place, for fear of targeting the owners during the holidays in Turkey.
” God is said to have created two things for the Kurds: the Internet, and Sweden. “
He was one of the signatories of an open letter requesting Sweden don’t fall nasa trap of the Turkish President. He wants the country to remain an asylum land for the Kurds.
Many experts have a hard time seeing how Stockholm will accept extraditions to Turkey – a decision that is in the courts, anyway.
Especially since Sweden has long stood up for its defense of rights, democracy and gender equality. This is what Paul Levin reminds us. He is the director of the Institute of Turkish Studies, Stockholm University.
And the social-democratic government has made it difficult to enterNATO. He had to reassure critics: joining the Alliance does not imply a sacrifice of its core values. This is a difficult positionadded the professor.
Observers and opponents of the Turkish leader argue that Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using Sweden’s application to joinNATO as money, to obtain innovative weapons from the United States.
There are many drawers, in fact, of negotiations explanation by Dorothée Schmid, head of the Turkey and Middle East Program at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) in Paris. He will return (Wednesday June 15) from Ankara.
The researcher noted that there was a lot of talk in Turkey about this showdown around Sweden and Finland to joinNATO. He added that for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has allied with a nationalist party, anything that can show that Turkey is acting like a strong country, like a country that resists or imposes its views on its allies: this is something for its nationalist elections.
The Turkish president is trying to revive his popularity at half -mast a year before the election.
The challenge of the PKK
Dorothée Schmid warns that the importance of the file should not be underestimated PKK. This is a real case for the Turks.
Professor Paul Levin, in Stockholm, agrees. He believes this worries a good portion of Turks, beyond President Erdogan’s supporters and party.
The entire Turkish security apparatus, which has repeatedly tried to put pressure on its alliesNATOto stop supporting Kurdish militias in Syria and stop giving them weapons that go into the hands of fighters from PKK in Turkey. And in a way, one can understand the concerns of the Turks. So far they have not won their case, this time they have a chance, thanks to their right to vetoexplanation by Swedish specialist on Turkish issues.
On Monday, June 13, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson wanted to respond in part to Ankara’s security concerns. A stricter anti -terrorism law will be enacted starting in July.
And if Sweden becomes a memberNATOthen the arms embargo imposed on Turkey after the attack on Kurdish militias in Syria in 2019, could be changed.
But the support of Social Democrats in power in Sweden for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish militias that participated in the defeat of the Islamic State armed group in Syria, has troubled Ankara. Turkey considers these fighters a threat to its security, because of their links to PKK, and they are also a terrorist organization. Therefore, the Turkish government asks Sweden to cut all ties with these Kurdish militias, among other requirements if it wants to have the opportunity to join theNATO.
For Independent MP Amineh Kakabaveh, that would cross a red line.
” My message is very clear, if the government abandons the Kurds, it will surely lose the vote in the next election. “
The Social Democrats have risen to power in Sweden thanks to his important voice. In exchange for the promise to strengthen cooperation with these militias, through the political wing of these fighters.
In his position, Amineh Kakavaveh not only made friends. His position has earned him the accusation of being held hostage by the Swedish government for personal gain.
The independent MP has no intention of remaining silent. In case he loses Sweden’s membership inNATO, he does not care. In any case, he opposes the idea of his country engaging with Turkey in this military alliance.
Dorothee Schmid, ofIFRI, emphasizes that the only merit of the Turkish veto is to make people think about the extension of NATO. He clarified his thoughts: what is interesting in this process is that it actually shows us that the hasty adherence of two countries, with a culture of neutrality, to a military alliance in the context of war: this is something that must be weighed. In reality, we cannot consider this to be something that is done lightly.
As for the Kurdish question like this, the researcher believes that the solution is not military and the issue needs to be fixed politically. He refers to that PKK is a extremist demonstration of a struggle for the rights of Kurds in Turkey (15% to 20% of the population). The problem, Dorothée Schmid added, is that President Erdogan calls almost all Kurds terrorists […] and that is a real problem that cannot be solved by a veto on the entry of Sweden and Finland intoNATOhe concludes.
Source: Radio-Canada
