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Swedes should behave and respect the holy book for Muslims: Quran.

UN motion after Sweden Quran burning: How did your country vote?

European ally and NATO states voted unanimously: NO!

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 at 10:36:40 PM EST
europarl.europa.eu | DRAFT report on the 2022 Commission Report on on Türkiye, 30 May 2023 motion for a resolution
General assessment and latest developments
[... 1-13 ...]
The way forward for EU-Türkiye relations
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armenpress | European Parliament foreign affairs committee urges Turkey to recognize Armenian Genocide, supports normalization, 18 July
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has adopted a report on Turkey which also mentions the latter's normalization process with Armenia.

The report supports the Armenia-Turkey normalization for reconciliation, regional stability and security. The report welcomes the progress achieved so far and commends the Armenian Prime Minister's attendance of the Turkish President's inauguration ceremony. The report once again calls on Turkey to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey.

Ukrainian Parliament ban on the use of Greek and Russian by ethnic Greeks (2014)
Ukraine region ban on Russian culture sparks controversy (2018)
New law stokes Ukraine language tensions (2021)
Why is Ukraine trying to cancel Russian culture? (2022)
Ukraine brings cancel culture after Russian culture, language (2023)
[...]
Urging the Turkish government, the European Union and its member states to break the current deadlock and move towards a closer partnership, MEPs recommend starting a reflection process to find a parallel and realistic framework for EU-Turkey relations. They call on the Commission to explore possible formats for a mutually appealing framework.
trade.ec.europa.eu: Türkiye is one of 42 current members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which was launched in 2008 as a continuation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership established at the Barcelona Conference in 1995. This inter-governmental partnership promotes cooperation and dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region and brings together all 27 EU Member States and 15 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel [!], Jordan [!], Lebanon [!], Mauritania [?!], Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria [!]—suspended, Tunisia [!], and Türkiye; Libya [!] is an observer).

The UfM's strategic objectives are regional stability, human development and regional economic integration. Its overall aim is to transform the Euro-Mediterranean region into an area of peace, stability, and prosperity.
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* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

In the report, MEPs confirm that Turkey remains a candidate for EU accession, a NATO ally and a key partner in security, trade and economic relations, and migration, stressing that Turkey is expected to respect democratic values, rule of law, human rights and abide by EU laws, principles and obligations.
[...]
al-monitor | European Parliament rebuffs Turkey's NATO-EU trade-off + Nacho Sánchez Amor tweets
The European deputies called on the EU to start a reflection process to find an "alternative and realistic framework" in substitution for Turkey's EU accession [sic] process.
trade.ec.europa.eu: Total trade in goods between the EU and Türkiye in 2022 amounted to €198.1 billion (3.6% of the EU's total trade with the ["intra- and extra-euro area"].
The EP report urged Turkey "to ratify Sweden's NATO membership in the Turkish Grand National Assembly as early as possible," saying that delaying it would only play into Russia's hands. EP members acknowledged measures taken by the Turkish authorities to prevent the re-exportation to Russia of goods covered by EU sanctions, but it urged them to go further to ensure that Turkey "stops being a hub for eNTiTiEs and individuals that wish to circumvent [EU] sanctions."
The lira is tumbling after the US said it's ready to kick its battle against Turkey up a notch (2018)
UPDATE: EU, UK, and US SANCTIONS against Turkey (2021)
EU Approves 11th Sanctions Package Against... third-countries (2023)
A press release on Tuesday from the EP Foreign Affairs Committee said EP members underlined that the NATO accession process of one country cannot be linked to the EU accession process of another. A parliamentary source told Al-Monitor that this was a new amendment to the report, implying that the wording came after [Stoltenberg-]Erdogan[-Biden-Hersh] made the linkage between Sweden's NATO bid and Turkey's long-standing bid for EU membership.
[...]
dailysabah | EU report on Türkiye 'one-sided, unobjective': Justice Minister
Yılmaz Tunç said Wednesday, after the European Union said Ankara's accession process "cannot resume under the current circumstances."

"We regret to see that the report is far from evaluating the current reform works in Türkiye and the developments in the fields of human rights and rule of law objectively and based on data," Tunç wrote on social media.

The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the report on Tuesday by 47 votes in favor, no votes against and 10 abstentions. "Türkiye's < wipes tears > alignment rate with the EU's Common foreign and security policy has slipped to an all-time low of 7%, making it by far the lowest of all enlargement countries," the report highlighted.
[...]
Türkiye has the longest history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU's predecessor in 1964, the European Economic Community (EEC), which is usually regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Türkiye had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. For the start of the negotiations, however, Türkiye had to wait for another six years, until 2005, a uniquely long process compared with other candidates.

Then the EP suspended The Process™ again in 2019.
by Cat on Wed Jul 19th, 2023 at 03:34:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Wed Jul 19th, 2023 at 06:28:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
... Afghanistan August 2021 after Joe and his American troops left in the dark of night.
... Libya after cleaning-up Gaddafi dictatorship ...
... Iraq after execution Saddam Hussein and John McCain walking down Main Street Baghdad declaring the country secure in 2007. Left Iraq under Shia influence and 700,000 deaths.
... Syria after the chaos became greater and greater with number of deaths near 400,000 and request for Assad to resign were waved away ... Syria gave permission to Russia to rid Syria from imported jihadist terror and with partial cooperation from dictator Erdogan, collected the terror group in NW Syrian province Idlib ... near the borders most foreign fighters entered. John McCain's moment of fame a photo-op with Al Nusra cutthroats.
... Ukraine and Maidan revolt and massacre, John McCain on the bull pulpit, his favorite spot together with the Nazi fascists groups in Kyiv. His early passing made had impossible to witness the ultimate victory over the Reds. Damn ... we lost  Vietnam too.

Erdogan learned lessons from the European Union and promised pushback of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers. A hardline populism ... VDL and Borrell

The bittersweet relief of Syrian refugees in Turkey after Erdogan's victory | Le Monde |

The presence in Turkey of 3.6 million refugees who fled the war in Syria has led to xenophobic rhetoric from presidential candidates. The refugees are still threatened with deportation.

Related reading ...

Ursula von der Leyen Might Be Too Pro-American for Europe

The president of the European Commission has Washington's back on China--but does she have Europe's?

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Jul 19th, 2023 at 07:08:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 20th, 2023 at 05:00:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
'An insult to Muslims': Iraq cuts ties with Sweden | The New Arab |



Amnesia and Gaza Genocide
by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 20th, 2023 at 07:00:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over planned Quran burning | DW News |

Swedish news agency TT reported that police granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in the capital of Stockholm on Thursday.

The application says an individual seeks to set the Quran and the Iraqi flag alight, TT reported.

AFP news agency reported that a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee stomped on the Quran, but did not burn it, during a protest in Stockholm. TT reported that the Quran was damaged but not did not catch fire. 

Stomped on it, did not catch fire ...

[...]

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom labeled the breach "totally unacceptable."

"It is clear that the Iraq authorities have seriously failed in their responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and personnel," Bilstrom said in a statement shared on Twitter. Iraq's charge d'affaires in Stockholm has also been summoned by Swedish authorities to express their dismay after the incident. 

The US also called it "unacceptable" that Iraqi troops did not shield the Swedish embassy from the breach. 

Take care now ... the Swedes are about to join NATO and these guys are trigger happy.

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Jul 20th, 2023 at 07:01:42 PM EST
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