Erdogan effigy stunt in Sweden aimed to reveal 'dictatorial' Turkey
The Hindu
Ankara wants Stockholm to crack down on activists.
Pro-Kurdish activists in Stockholm who hanged an effigy of Turkey's president, further impeding Sweden's bid to join NATO, say their stunt aimed to draw attention to Ankara's "dictatorial" regime.
The brazen stunt in front of the city hall incensed Turkey, which is yet to ratify Sweden's bid to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
Ankara wants Stockholm to crack down on activists close to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and people accused of having ties to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup, before it approves Sweden's NATO aspirations.
Andreas, a 39-year-old Swede speaking to AFP on condition that his surname not be disclosed, showed a doll resembling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with a rope still tied to his ankles.
He and four other activists from the pro-Kurdish Rojava Committee of Sweden hung the effigy by the feet.
The display was meant to mirror the grim end of Italy's late dictator Benito Mussolini in 1945, when his body was strung up after he was executed.
Presented as a reminder of the fate of "dictators", the action was staged and filmed before being posted on social media.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.