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Quran burning incident in Sweden promotes violence against Muslims: Altun

"In the Kristallnacht incident, the Nazis burned the pages of the Torah. Would the Swedish authorities today define such a disgusting thing as freedom of expression?” Altun asked.

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Fahrettin Altun answered the questions of the Swedish-based Dagens Nyheter Newspaper.

Burning the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy promotes violence against Muslims, especially Muslims in Sweden, Türkiye's Communications Director has said.

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, while surrounded and protected by the police, set the Quran on fire in Sweden’s capital Stockholm on Saturday .

In an interview with the Swedish-based Dagens Nyheter Newspaper on Monday, Fahrettin Altun underlined the difference between freedom of expression and hate speech, adding that the Turkish Constitution also guarantees freedom of expression.

"In the Kristallnacht incident, the Nazis burned the pages of the Torah. Would the Swedish authorities today define such a disgusting thing as freedom of expression?” Altun asked.

When asked about the latest situation regarding the visit of the Swedish Defense Minister to Ankara, which he plans to make this week, Altun said, "Our Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar announced that this visit has been canceled due to the latest developments in Sweden. In fact, the message is clear: there's no point in getting together if Sweden won't take Türkiye's concerns seriously".

In a previous interview, Altun called for making the clear distinction between Kurdish political activism and the activities of the PKK terrorist group: "It is past time the European governments wake up to the reality of PKK’s organized terrorist activities on their soil".

He said if the Swedish authorities are serious about their national security and want to join NATO, they “must also care about the security of their potential NATO allies like Türkiye. This is not too much to ask. Unless of course they truly do not care".

Last week, Türkiye called on Sweden to take steps against terror groups after a demonstration in Stockholm, where supporters of the PKK terrorist organisation hung in effigy by the feet a figure of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then uploaded footage of the provocation along with threats against Türkiye and Erdogan.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which started on February 24.

But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

“We shared our concerns when Sweden shared that it wanted to join NATO. We created a mechanism together to address these concerns. I can say that Sweden is insufficient to meet all demands," he said.

Asked about how long the NATO process could take, Altun said, “This process will take as long as necessary. If you remember, Greece vetoed Macedonia's entry into NATO for 10 years for a simple reason, Macedonia's name. Türkiye has much more serious concerns. We are talking about terrorist attacks that killed thousands of innocent people here," Altun emphasized.