ISTANBUL - Journalist Musa Özuğurlu, who stated that Sweden, which turned into a bargain over the Kurds, could not get the result Turkey wanted in NATO membership, said that there was a period of complete depression in Turkey.

 

The "Permanent Joint Mechanism", which was created in accordance with the "tripartite agreement" signed by the representatives of the countries within the scope of the membership application of Sweden and Finland to NATO, held its fourth meeting in Ankara recently. At the meeting held in Beştepe, many topics were discussed, such as the extradition of Kurdish politicians, who were prosecuted in Sweden, to Turkey.

 

Evaluating the developments in the NATO membership process of Sweden, which turned into a crisis due to the negotiations made due to Turkey and Hungary's disapproval, journalist Musa Özuğurlu stated that this situation brought along a new set of economic, political and military pursuits, and said that there was a crisis period.

 

WHAT DOES TÜRKİYE WANT FROM SWEDEN?

 

Stating that the steps taken by Sweden in the context of the commitments included in the "Triple Memorandum" were discussed at the meeting, Özuğurlu said: "The new legislation that came into force on June 1, 2023, the 'fight against terrorism' and the issues related to the activities of the organization in Sweden were discussed. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used this as a bargaining chip from the moment the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland came to the agenda. Erdogan had problems with Sweden's membership in particular because Sweden has been a more active country in dealing with some political issues in Türkiye for a long time. At the same time, it is a country that has some names that are thought to be parties to these problems; therefore, the Swedish government has more files. But the same is not true for Finland, so its membership was immediately approved. Turkey has had some expectations from Sweden regarding the Kurdish issue for a long time. Sweden's attitude towards human rights and freedoms in recent years has approached a more neutral one. In other words, we see that Europe is less active on the Kurdish issue compared to previous years.”

 

BARGAINING THROUGH THE KURDS

 

Emphasizing that Erdoğan has expectations regarding the extradition of the names involved in the PKK and the Kurdish movement, Özuğurlu said: “Sweden has not had a clear answer to Erdoğan's demands so far. As Finland met Turkey's demands, its membership was immediately approved, but the real issue is Sweden. There are names that Türkye wants from Sweden. There are names it has been looking for in previous years. One can ask for their return, these names can only be 10-15 people, I don't think there will be more. Again, they may request that these groups not be allowed to operate in their own country in any way because the fact that it is not allowed to operate is a situation related to the continuity of the Kurdish Question and it is an issue that concerns millions; therefore, it is important for Turkey that the new generations continue such a process, and this means that certain organizations and associations should not be granted operating permits. Turkey has such an expectation. Türkiye doesn't seem to have gotten what it wanted, but the bargaining continues."

 

THE WORLD HAS A SYSTEM CRISIS

 

Emphasizing that Europe has been in a state of insensitivity to human rights in recent years, Özuğurlu said: "Europe was also buried in its own problems. There is a system crisis in the world in general. These states are also experiencing a major crisis. There is no social democratic state left in Europe like before. We see more rights rising. On the other hand, reactions to refugees or 'foreigners' have increased. After all these years, it still hasn't adapted, I'm not just saying for one side, I see that there is no communication in terms of the refugees in that country and the adaptation of the people in that country to foreigners. This is a complete depression. Although positive statements were made after the meeting, Turkey could not get what it wanted yet. the negotiations still continue, but it will be concluded in a short time."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal