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Sweden’s Greens: Opposition to Turkey Due to Islamophobia
Ms Ruwaida: Opposition to Turkey's accession to the EU has nothing to do with Islamophobia; rather, it has all to do with common sense! – ©Mark

TODAY’S ZAMAN: Some European countries such as Germany and France oppose Turkey's membership in the European Union because of their Islamopohobic stance, a senior member of Sweden's Green Party has said.

"What they do is xenophobic," said Yvonne Ruwaida, a member of the executive board of the Green Party (Miljöpartiet de Gröna), during a visit to Steg för Framtiden” (A step for the future), an association established by Turkish entrepreneurs, in Stockholm on Saturday. She was referring to objections to Turkey's membership raised by a small number of politicians in Sweden, as well as in France and Germany. "This is Islamophobia. They fear that the whole of Europe will be invaded by Islam and are therefore trying to stop Turkish accession," she said. "It is very sad that such things are being discussed. Membership of a country should be assessed on the basis of objective criteria."

Sweden, a firm supporter of Turkey's accession to the EU, is preparing to take over the EU's rotating presidency in June. The Swedish Green Party is one of the most consistent supporters of Turkey in the country. Mehmet Kaplan, son of a Turkish immigrant family, is in the leadership of the party. >>> Ramazan Kerpeten, Stockholm | Monday, May 11, 2009