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The Finnish newspaper “Illtalehti” published yesterday a cartoon representing the doll of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, what was it hanged upside down in front of Stockholm City Hall last week and that provoked the umpteenth diplomatic conflict between Sweden and Turkey in full NATO accession negotiations.
Through the cartoon, the cartoonist represents the Turkish president as the puppet displayed in front of the Stockholm City Hall, like a dog and completely naked. The headline is “Erdogan’s price list for mockery” and in various speech bubbles the Turkish leader says: “130 terrorists!”, “200 terrorists!” and “500 terrorists!”. The dialogues allude to number of extraditions that Turkey has been imposing to Sweden and Finland to give their approval to join NATO. Turkey and Hungary they are the only transatlantic partners that have not yet given the green light to the application of the two Nordic countries.
The director of “Illtalehti”, Perttu Kauppinen, emphasizes that the newspaper has published a similar satire on the NATO process and Turkey’s role in the past. “By publishing the drawing, we remind our readers that freedom of expression must be protected, especially when times are difficult and conditions are harsh,” he explains to Swedish public television SVT.
On how the cartoons have been received, Kauppinen assures that “the reactions have been mixed, as always with political satire. Some say ‘brilliant’, others that Erdogan should not be provoked and that nothing good can come of it”.
The cartoon was drawn by the controversial cartoonist Ville Ranta, which he often posts on “Iltalehti”. Ranta has been denounced to the Police on several occasions for his satire, including for incitement against ethnic groups, reports Yle.
The cartoons, which were published on Tuesday, have not sparked major protests in the Turkish media so far. However, the satirical drawing contest on Erdogan organized by the Swedish magazine “The Flame” it has been the target of the media related to the Turkish regime. “Scandals never end in Sweden. After the shameful demonstration in Stockholm, the Swedish press has caused another scandal. The magazine ‘Flamman’ launched a contest to insult Erdogan”, wrote the official newspaper “Daily Sabah”. “A News”, another outlet loyal to Erdogan, has also criticized the contest.
The truth is that the Turkish president is not characterized by his sense of humor -especially when he is the object of satire- or by his respect for freedom of expression. In October, a Swedish television comedy show that he mocked Erdogan, whom he caricatured as a whimsical baby in diapers, has already provoked the ire of Ankara.
From Prague, yesterday the Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akarcharged against Stockholm and Helsinki for breaching the tripartite agreement signed in Madrid last June to unblock its accession to NATO. “Sweden and Finland do not meet their commitments in the memorandum. We expect concrete steps to end support for terrorist organizations,” Akar said.
In the memorandum signed at the Madrid Summit, Stockholm and Helsinki committed to the resumption of arms sales, the extradition of suspected terrorists and the end of support for the Kurdish militias that control northern Syria. So far, all the efforts put in place by the two Nordic countries seem to be insufficient for Erdogan, who is using Sweden and Finland as hostages in his dispute with the United States to get F-35 planes with which to renew his obsolete military aviation. Washington decided in 2019 not to sell these fighters to Ankara after learning about Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
