There is a Turkish joke about a political criminal entering his criminal library and providing the librarian with a list of books he would like to consult. The librarian looks at his list and then, apologetically, replies, “I’m sorry. We have those books. ” We only have its authors. “
Turkey has already humiliated Sweden by effectively extorting concessions in the hope that the Swedish government can get Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lift his anti-consensual veto on Sweden’s NATO membership. Sweden’s foreign minister has already said that Sweden will distance itself from Kurdish militias in Syria. which freed captured Yazidis and fought Islamic State at a time when Erdogan backed the militant group.
ERDOGAN’S HUGE REGIME IN TURKEY DOXXE A DISSIDENT JOURNALIST
Erdogan is asking for more. It has already given Stockholm a list of dissidents and activists it needs Sweden to extradite. Because of Erdogan’s intolerance of dissent, he introduced a decades-long crackdown on the Turkish press in his country. Turkey now ranks Qatar and China-controlled Hong Kong on Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index, and is slightly above Russia. It now seeks to leverage its NATO veto to export its purge.
Today, the most productive journalism about Turkey happens outside its borders. Many high-profile news hounds live in Stockholm. Two years ago, Abdullah Bozkurt survived an attack in Sweden allegedly carried out by thugs under Erdogan’s command. Turkish state media also published photographs of dissident journalist Bulent Kenes in Stockholm. The fact that Turkey publishes their non-public speeches also puts them in the crosshairs of Turkish extremists who act out of flattery for Erdogan and disregarding the laws of the countries in which they are located. who are living lately.
Erdogan hates the fact that Nordic Monitor and Ahval continue to publish hard-hitting (but painstakingly studied) reports at times in Turkey and the corruption of Erdogan and his ruling circle. As a result, it is now not easy for Sweden to detain and extradite Bozkurt, Kenes and others where it can punish them as it has done with many other news hounds who have refused to become judicial bloodhounds or remain silent. If Sweden forces itself to do so, it will cover itself in disgrace and invite additional extortion. Erdogan hopes to turn Sweden into a Scandinavian Azerbaijan, that is, a compulsory state that has given up its sovereignty in favor of short-term favor.
Sweden’s leaders deserve to have been smarter. Blackmailers and thugs always make new demands when victims give in to the former. A much better strategy would be for existing NATO members to play hardball and give Erdogan the option of abandoning his objections or exacerbating his already disastrous economy. Leverage can either pass ways.
At the same time, Biden’s management can get to the bottom of Erdogan’s blackmail attempt by providing asylum to Turkish journalists and encouraging U. S. -funded investment organizations to go to the bottom of the U. S. The U. S. Department of Agriculture, such as the National Endowment for Democracy or the U. S. Institute of Peace. Many other autocrats fear.
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Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential. He is a senior scientist at the American Enterprise Institute.