Turkish leader writes on 'risks' of Sweden, Finland in NATO

[TexasTowelie]

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's president highlighted the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as part of his country's objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO and said both nations doing so would carry security risks for Turkey.

The group known as PKK has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. It is designated a terrorist entity by the United States and the European Union, including Sweden and Finland.

However, the West’s attitude to the PKK’s Syrian wing, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, has caused acrimony between Ankara and other NATO members. The YPG forms the backbone of the forces involved in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group.

“Turkey maintains that the admission of Sweden and Finland entails risks for its own security and the organization’s future,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote in an article published by The Economist late Monday.

Read more: https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/toledo/ap-online/2022/05/31/turkish-leader-writes-on-risks-of-sweden-finland-in-nato

[DFW]

1. Turkey continues to wage a culture war on 18% of its indigenous population

It's not like the Kurds invaded Turkey. Erdoğan could easily have made peace with them, declared Kurdish to be an official language of Turkey, and made himself some powerful domestic allies in a time when absolute rulers need all the friends they can get. Instead, he forced tens of thousands of them into exile and terrorizes the ones still in Turkey. THEN he calls those who organize resistance terrorists. There is a legitimate argument here as to who is the worse terrorist.

End the harassment, make Kurd citizens of equal status in their own country, admit that Turkey is a multicultural state, and voilà, in three generations, there will be a Switzerland in the Middle East. Of course, there is one major obstacle to that--Erdoğan's corruption. THAT is something he won't even share with his fellow Turks, let alone the Kurds. He gets something like 1% of every real estate transaction in Turkey, or at least that seems to be common knowledge among his friends and foes alike here in Europe. The Kurdws would probably press for some kind of reform there, and Erdoğan is obviously not interested in that. Ergo, any challenge to his status quo makes you a terrorist. Sweden and Finland are right to be losing patience with his blatantly phony reasons for objecting to their joining NATO. Maybe it's time a few of the other members started having more than a few conferences with Turks whose names are not Erdoğan. What's he going to do, take Turkey out of NATO and join the Warsaw Pact? A bit late for that one. He has power and more money than he'll ever be able to spend. He should count his blessings and make nice while he can. He won't, I know.

[niyad]

7. Thank you.

[Celerity]

2. Erdogan can go fuck himself with a rusty pipe.

[JoanofArgh]

3. Why was Turkey ever admitted into NATO? Caused nothing but problems.

[Mister Ed]

5. Because its location made it a potential bulwark against Soviet expansion, I guess.

And yes, Turkey sure has been a troublesome NATO ally ever since.

[NCjack]

4. NATO took an enormous risk when it admitted Turkey. This how Turkey repays us -- setting

Europe up for invasion by Russia and ultimately WW3.

[Lovie777]

6. Same with Hungary . .. .. ..