Turkey points journey warning to Europe following protests

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey issued a journey warning late Saturday for its residents dwelling in or planning on going to European nations, citing Islamophobia and anti-Turkish demonstrations.

The warning comes after last weekend’s protests in Sweden the place an anti-Islam activist burned the Quran and pro-Kurdish teams protested in opposition to Turkey.

The Turkish overseas ministry urged its residents to take precautions and steer clear of demonstration areas. It additionally mentioned they need to go to native authorities in the event that they face xenophobic or racist assaults.

Turkey strongly condemned far-right activist Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Quran in Stockholm, which he repeated in Copenhagen Friday. Ankara additionally summoned the Dutch ambassador after one other far-right activist tore pages of the Quran within the Hague.

The Turkish authorities additionally mentioned there was a rise in anti-Turkish protests by “teams with hyperlinks to terror teams” — a reference to the Kurdistan Staff’ Occasion, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in opposition to Turkey. Professional-Kurdish teams have been demonstrating in Sweden, waving the flags of the PKK and its associates. The protests are a response to Sweden and Finland’s promise to stop the PKK’s actions of their nations as a way to acquire Turkey’s approval for his or her NATO bids.

Following the protests, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden to not anticipate help for its membership bid for the navy alliance. Turkey additionally indefinitely postponed a key assembly in Brussels that may have mentioned Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership.