While everyone’s attention is focused on the process of ratifying NATO agreements with Finland and Sweden, the Kurds are seriously concerned by the willingness of Stockholm and Helsinki to follow the lead of Turkish President Erdogan and extradite at his request people who, allegedly, “maintain contacts with terrorists.”
In particular, the decision of the authorities was condemned by the Political Spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Community Center ofNorway,AndamAso Aziz.
He believes, that the problem lies not only in the fact that now no one in the Kurdish community of Sweden and Finland can feel safe anymore, but also in the unpredictability of Erdogan’s demands.
And indeed, if initially it was a matter of extraditing only 33 people, then after a while the figure rose to 73, which was presented by the Turkish leader as a great “diplomatic victory for Ankara."
Recently, Erdogan went even further and said that almost all Nordic countries, including Norway, had become “nests of terror."
That being said, the agreement looks like a complete disgrace for Sweden and Finland.
While the agreement itself did not come as a surprise to the Kurds, it forced them to seriously reconsider their views on NATO.
According to Aziz, it was the Kurds who played a key role in the fight against ISIS, moreover, they have always supported Sweden and Finland in their quest for security, but now they feel abandoned.
Faith in NATO and the government of these states has been lost.
Sweden has caved in to a dictator like Erdogan and relinquished 200 years of sovereignty in international politics. Defending themselves against one dictator, they ally with another, while sacrificing an oppressed group of the population.
All of this raises serious concerns that Norway could be next to go down this path.
At the same time, after Sweden and Finland, it will not be difficult for Turkey to “put pressure” on Norway.
With each successful agreement, Erdogan becomes more brazen, and by agreeing to his terms once, Sweden and Finland have given the Turkish leader the opportunity to demand more.
In the current circumstances, everyone is interested in the answer to one very important question: “Will the Kurds really be extradited?”
As Aziz notes, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has a rich long history and it is only natural that many support it. But this does not mean that all of them must necessarily be associated with terrorism.
It worth to be mentioned that citizens of Sweden and Finland also call for the government to delay the process as much as possible and not to extradite the Kurds to Turkey.
Tiejun Huang graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently doing an internship at the National College of Ireland.
Ah yes, Sweden and Finland doing the devil’s bargain to leave the Kurds out to die just so they can join the Empire. Such compassionate, human rights caring countries they are.
What to say, it is a big shame. Two democratic nations are became a pawn of a wannabe Sultan dictator.
400 million allocated by congress for 175,000 155mm artillery shell & rockets. They will wreck the construction of Ukraine/Donbass . Kurds & the general peace being sacrificed – for another conflict not of their making? Of course, they should be concerned. The sooner a negotiated settlement between slavic people & the peace movement not allowing the propaganda that divides & perpetuates the conflict, the better.Its cheaper than 750 billion the government of Ukraine is lobbying for. I am antiwar.
This is a one sided conversation. There is another less savory side to Kurdish leadership live of money, arms and opportunistic politics. This opportunism left Kurdish population vulnerable to backlash. Battling ISIS? Kurdish leaders of YPG in Syria made money smuggling weapons from PKK and US — in the name of fighting ISIS — and selling them to Strian militants in Idlib and elsewhere. After Turkey intervened, smugglung was reduced through Aftin. and along part of Turkish border where joint Russian-Turkish patrols controll a ten mile border corridor. After YPG lost. they simply joined US cotrolled SDF.
At oresenrt, this Kurdish outfit is controlling pattches of Syrian territory even though inly a small number of
Kurds live there.
SDF was involved in liberating Manbij and Raqqa. Note that in both cases US airforce practically destroyed cities, and that ISIS was allowed to leave, armed. Where did they go? Many still in Ruqban camp adjacent to Tanf base. Ince SDF enterd cities, they established the adminiztration, set schools, even though
those are majority Syrian Arab towns.
It was only after Trump pullout and Turkey offensive that Kurds turned towns over to Syrian government.
But under Biden administration SDF Kurds have bern asserting their controls.
This is the reason Turkey is readying another intervention primarily in north-east where SDF Kurds have expanded their military presence and claim control iover both Syrian Arabs and Turkmen population. As always, SDF will go pleading to Damascus to protect them from bad Turkey. And Syrian governmebt iscrightly concerned about Kurdish population that has no control over their leaders oportunism.
Who is exactly militarizing Turkish Kurd guerrila? It is not Russia or China. West of course. Having always someone in Turkey ready to do West bidding is prsgmatism on their part. And having Kurds undermine Syrian peace process iis a bonus. In Iraq, Peshmerga Kurds were too timid and cooperating with Baghdad. So, Turkish PKK was expanded into Iraq to provide better partner to Western interests.
Turkey is acting out of its self interest. Western spinsored PKK has gone international and has a fancy SDF name in Syria, Demicratic something or other in Iraq, Iranian exile Kurdish group has been nurtured by the West as well.
When will Kurdish population grasp that their leadership continues to play dangerous proxy games. while exposing all Kurds to danger. I guess there is notthing they can do. New generations of kurds will continue the “pragmatism” of its leaders, making most out of income stream that comes from hiring their services. These practices predictably keep Kurds in the perpetual limbo.
One can feel for the plught of population. But only Kurds can decide how to make peace withun nations they live in. Or alternatively, they can continue hoping that latching on to a big power will bring them peace ans security.
Many have used the Kurdish people at their convenience whenever that suited their purpose at the time. But shouldn’t look no further than the treatments that the Sami People have received in such progressive nations of Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
“ Centuries of well-documented discrimination, abuse, and mistreatment of Sámi populations exist, and remains scarcely acknowledged on a global scale. The UN Racial Discrimination Committee (2011) has issued a number of recommendations to Norway and Sweden, criticizing their policies of forcibly assimilating Sámi populations and condemning language as a basis for discrimination. “Swedification” policies of the 1800s persisted well into the 1970s, based on the premise of Sámi populations being “backwards” and “uncivilized”, resulting in forced Christianisation, segregated schooling, banning the use of local languages, and “encouraging” civilized norms – often through force. 17th century Sámi who refused to give up their traditional beliefs in favour of Christianity were threatened with fines, imprisonment and even the death penalty.
https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/swedens-troubled-relationship-with-the-indigenous-smi-community