Sweden: Erdogan effigy ‘act of sabotage’ against NATO bid

By SUZAN FRASER and JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has denounced a protest by Kurds in central Stockholm where an effigy of Turkey’s president was hung from a lamppost as an act of “sabotage” against Sweden’s bid to join NATO. The protest outside City Hall on Wednesday drew an angry backlash from Turkey, a NATO member which already had held off approving Sweden’s application until the government in Stockholm satisfies its demands. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported Friday that the speaker of Turkey’s parliament canceled a visit by his Swedish counterpart  that was scheduled for Monday. Turkey has made its approval of admitting Sweden to NATO conditional on Stockholm cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups.