European countries have begun to change their point of view on the July 15 coup attempt in favor of Turkey and Ankara's stance on the issue has started dominating their perspective, a Turkish politician said.
Talip Küçükcan, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's (PACE) Turkish group and AK Party's Adana district deputy, said they have observed changes in the criticisms of European countries that came following the July 15 coup attempt and a positive view of Turkey has started to dominate Europe.
"There were quite harsh criticisms after July 15 in Turkey-related debates in PACE. Yet, since last year, we have been talking about everything that happened to our respondents nearly every day, explaining the developments in detail. I must say that there is a big difference between that harsh rhetoric after July 15 and the rhetoric of today."
"As we convey more information to them, we have observed that there has been a positive change in their perspective on Turkey," he indicated while adding that still, their work was not completed because the PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) continue to negatively propagate the country.
FETÖ is a terrorist organization that is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and the judiciary, ultimately leading to the July 15 coup attempt last year. As a result of the failed attempt, 250 people were killed and more than 2,500 others were wounded.
Being in Denmark, which holds PACE's term presidency and therefore hosts the next PACE session, Küçükcan stated that the far-right and populist rhetoric harms Europe itself, referring to the previous elections in Germany, Austria and France.
"When we look at the elections in Europe, we observe that there is a political understanding that turns Europe on itself with far-right and populist rhetoric," he expressed, adding that the parliamentarians who are known for their far-right rhetoric are creating a negative atmosphere in PACE.
With recent negative developments regarding human rights, Küçükcan also emphasized that PACE's administration should be looked over if it wants to continue to be respectable.
Turkish-native becomes deputy candidate in Sweden
Muharrem Demirok, Sweden's Turkish mayor responsible for the environment and energy in Linkoping, became the secondary deputy candidate for the Östergötland County of his Liberal Central Party.
"As a Turkish-native politician, now I want to serve in Sweden as a deputy. By using the advantages of biculturalism, I think that I would be able to bring solutions to many problems," Demirok said, adding that he already has experience serving as Linkoping mayor for eight years.