Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson condemned left-wing lawmakers for taking pictures of themselves with the flags of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other Kurdish organizations that Ankara considers terrorist.
Andersson told the Swedish news agency TT: “The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization not only in Sweden, but throughout the European Union, and taking pictures with these flags is absolutely inappropriate.”
On Tuesday, NATO officially began the process of incorporating Sweden and Finland into its ranks after reaching an agreement with Turkey that delayed the start of the process for the Scandinavian countries to join the alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the two countries of providing sanctuary to activists in Kurdish rebel movements, especially the outlawed PKK, which Erdogan sought to crush, and accused them of encouraging “terrorism”.
Photographs circulated on social media on Tuesday showing MPs from the Left Party, which opposes Sweden’s decision to apply to join NATO, carrying the flags of the PKK, the YPG and the Women’s Protection Units, which Ankara considers to be terrorist groups. .
The photos were taken during the annual party on the island of Gotland.
The Swedish Left Party does not participate in the government, but contributes to the support of Andersen’s government.
Source: AFP