(14 Jun 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stockholm - 13 June 2022
1. Swedish lawmaker Amineh Kakabaveh in her office
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Amineh Kakabaveh, Swedish Member of Parliament:
"I support and I defend our sovereignty and our dignity and our foreign policy. I think that every politician should do."
3. Kakabaveh in her office
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Amineh Kakabaveh, Swedish Member of Parliament:
"We have always been the last country in the world to say something (against Turkey), you know, because the United States, probably Jens Stoltenberg, and you know, NATO didn't want that Sweden should say something to be a barrier for the NATO membership. So that is why we, in the world's eyes, can be also, you know, they can see us like oppressed, quiet and conscienceless."
5. Close of framed image of female fighters in Kakabaveh's office
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Amineh Kakabaveh, Swedish Member of Parliament:
"I hope not (Sweden giving in to Turkey's demands) because the Turkish government knows, Erdogan knows very well that the Kurdish fighters, they are supported by the United States. If they were terrorists, the United States (would) never want to do that. But now the Western world, they do need the Kurds. But Erdogan also needs the United States, and Biden should hug (embrace) him and give him, you know...because next year, there's an election in Turkey, his (Erdogan's) popularity is very, very low. Less than 40%. So it means that always in Middle East, you know, if the leaders are against the West, they can get some points."
7. Kakabaveh showing item in her office
STORYLINE:
When Turkey’s president rails against “terrorists” in the Swedish Parliament, Amineh Kakabaveh is convinced he is talking about her.
The former Kurdish rebel fighter turned Swedish lawmaker has emerged as a central figure in the drama surrounding Sweden and Finland’s historic bid to join NATO.
Turkey opposes NATO membership for the two Nordic countries, accusing them of harboring Kurdish militants.
Kakabaveh, a strong advocate for Kurdish self-determination in the Middle East and a fierce critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, holds extraordinary leverage because the Swedish government depends on her vote for its one-seat majority in Parliament.
"I support and I defend our sovereignty and our dignity and our foreign policy. I think that every politician should," she said.
Despite a long history of non-alignment, Sweden and Finland rushed to apply for NATO membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but were stunned by opposition from Erdogan.
To allow the Nordic countries into NATO, a decision that requires unanimity among the alliance's members, Turkey demanded they lift arms embargoes on Turkey, extradite alleged Kurdish terrorists and stop supporting Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Turkey says those fighters are closely linked to PKK, a domestic Kurdish group that Ankara and the West consider a terrorist organization.
Meeting those demands would have been difficult for the Swedes and Finns in any case, but with Sweden’s government dependent on Kakabaveh’s support for its survival, there is little room to negotiate a compromise.
Kakabaveh’s backing allowed Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson to become Sweden’s first female prime minister last year.
In return, the center-left Social Democrats agreed to deepen cooperation with Kurdish authorities in northern Syria.
The minority government survived a no-confidence vote last week thanks to Kakabaveh and will need her support again on Wednesday to push its spring budget proposal through Parliament.
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