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Deutsche Welle: Triumph or ‘ass’ Erdogan in Madrid?

Did Tayyip Erdogan finally cross his line at the NATO summit, as he claims? Or did he just give up by signing a non-binding text?

The first impression is that in the “memorandum” he signed with Sweden and Finland, in order to consent to their membership in NATO, Erdogan imposed his positions. This is because it agreed to launch a more intensive co-operation with the two northern countries in the “fight against terrorism”, including in terrorist organizations not only the banned “Kurdistan Workers’ Party” (PKK), but also the Kurdish National Guard YPG in the North. Syria, which until recently, with the support of the United States, fought fierce battles against the so-called “Islamic State”.

The first reactions of the Kurds in exile in Sweden seem to confirm this assessment. Ahmed Karamus, co-chair of the Kurdistan National Congress, speaks of “betrayal” from Stockholm. “It seems that this agreement is a betrayal against the Kurds,” he said. “Betrayal in their struggle for peace and freedom. Once again, the Kurds have fallen victim to the altar of other countries’ interests.” Although there are no official statistics, it is estimated that Sweden currently hosts about 100,000 Kurds, the largest Kurdish community in Europe. The PKK has been considered a “terrorist organization” in Sweden since the 1980s, but not the YPG.

Non-binding “give and take”?

Commenting briefly on the “memorandum” signed in Madrid with Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson said it was a “usual give and take” in these cases. The President of Finland Sauli Niinisto made more detailed statements. He acknowledged that the explicit reference to the YPG was something he wanted and indeed secured by Turkey, but argued that in reality “nothing changes” for Finland. “We have said many times that our legislation fully addresses all the demands made by Turkey,” Niinisto said. “What has changed is that, as I have to admit, we have not had any impatience to make an explicit reference to the YPG, because there are huge differences between how other NATO member states view these organizations and how Turkey sees them. Of course it is. “The explicit reference was one of the main goals of Turkey. We finally made this reference because, in the final analysis, as I have already said, nothing changes.”

From a legal point of view, of course, nothing changes, as the text is not considered legally binding. But what is happening at the political level? The answer will be given soon as, before the ink in the Madrid memorandum dried up, the Turkish government submitted a request for the extradition of 33 suspects from Sweden and Finland, who are accused of “terrorist activity”. As Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Wednesday, they are supporters of the PKK or the Gulen movement. The United States, meanwhile, has responded to a request from Ankara to extradite a “suspected terrorist”, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry. The 55-year-old suspect was transported to Istanbul accompanied by US officials, where he was picked up by counter-terrorism officials. He is accused of the bombing that took place in May 2013 on the Turkish-Syrian border, with 53 dead – including five children.

“Concern” about the memorandum with Turkey

The new secretary general of the ruling Bizan Liberal Party, Bizir Sarai, expresses his “concern” over the memorandum signed by Turkey with the northern countries in Berlin. Speaking to the German News Agency (DPA), the German politician said that of course “the enlargement of the Alliance sends a message of strength and determination in the face of the Russian threat”, but on the other hand “the rumors about specific concessions to Turkey give cause for concern. “We can not tolerate violations of fundamental rights, which is not in line with NATO values.”

Giannis Papadimitriou (AP, DPA)

Source: Deutsche Welle

Source: Capital

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