Swedish Foreign Minister apologizes to Cem
HDN | 3/23/2002
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh on Thursday apologized to Turkey for comments earlier this week in which she claimed that Turkey was a dictatorship. Lindh called Foreign Minister Ismail Cem to say that the remarks she made in her speech on Tuesday Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh on Thursday apologized to Turkey for comments earlier this week in which she claimed that Turkey was a dictatorship. Lindh called Foreign Minister Ismail Cem to say that the remarks she made in her speech on Tuesday at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva went too far, Swedish foreign ministry spokesman Bertil Jobeus said, according to news reports from Stockholm.Lindh said in the speech that knowledge was a prerequisite for human rights, and that was the reason freedom of opinion and expression were feared by dictators. Then she cited examples, including journalists detained in Belarus, religious minorities detained in China and Kurds claiming to be harassed in Turkey.
Jobeus said Turkey was not meant to be included in that group of countries, although he stressed Sweden remains critical of Turkey's treatment of the Kurds. He said the error was made in a last-minute revision of the speech.
"That was an unfortunate way of expressing it," he said. "Of course we do not consider Turkey to be a dictatorship."
"Anna Lindh called Cem to explain the situation and also to express her regret that the statement had been made," Jobeus said.
LINDH APOLOGIZES TO CEM FOR SPEECH
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh telephoned Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem yesterday to apologize to him for a speech she made this week to a UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. Lindh apologized to Cem for her allegation in the speech that Turkey’s government constituted a “dictatorial regime.” Saying that her remarks were in error and had clearly gone too far, Lindh added that she was sorry. /Milliyet/
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Bertil Jobeus said Turkey was not meant to be included in that group of countries, although he stressed Sweden remains critical of Turkey's treatment of the Kurds. He said the error was made in a last-minute revision of the speech.
"That was an unfortunate way of expressing it," he said. "Of course we do not consider Turkey to be a dictatorship."
"Anna Lindh called Cem to explain the situation and also to express her regret that the statement had been made," Jobeus said.
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