Protesters gathered in front of the offices of weapons monopolies in Stockholm, Malmö, Linköping, Växjö, Helsingborg, Goteborg and Umeå on Monday and demanded an end to weapons sales to the Turkish state.

Anti-war protesters chanted “No support for Erdogan” and held banners demanding an end to weapons sales to Turkey and a boycott against the country.

During the hour-long protests, activists passed out flyers exposing the truth of weapons sales to Turkey by Sweden.

At the same time, a protest was held in Munich, Germany in front of the Mercedes-Benz factory. Protesters held banners with names of German weapons monopolies who arm Turkey and condemned the weapons sales.

Activists said the equipment sold by the company is used by the Turkish state as weapons of war against Syria and Rojava and demanded an end to vehicle sales to Turkey.

In the protest in central Stockholm in front of the Saab offices, protesters held a banner that read “Boycott Turkey”. The protest was supported by Rojava Committees, Kurds and Swedish anti-war activists.

WEAPONS SOLD TO TURKEY GO TO ISIS GANGS

Rojava Committees member Erik Bong spoke to the ANF and said they support the protest to condemn Saab’s weapons sales to Turkey.

Bong said Saab, Scania and SSAB are arming Turkey: “Some of these weapons are given to jihadist groups and ISIS gangs to be used against Kurds.”

Bong said Scania sells engine parts to military vehicles used by the Turkish state, and Saab the technical equipment used in planes: “Through these, these companies support Turkey’s war against Kurds. We demand an end to sales to the Turkish state.”

Annika Spalde from the Christian Peacemaker Teams who work under Sweden’s churches against weapons exports said she has witnessed the destruction and violence the Turkish state caused in Southern Kurdistan during her recent trips there.

SWEDISH MONOPOLIES ARE ACCOMPLICES OF TURKEY’S CRIMES

Spalde said civilians who live near border areas have been harmed in Turkey’s bombings of Southern Kurdistan and added: “In the last 10 years, we have observed that the Turkish state attacks negatively impact many people’s lives. The attacks don’t kill huge numbers of people, but the villagers who live there can’t go on with their normal lives and are afraid to go outside. The Turkish state bombs tents and fields, which creates disasterous outcomes for the people.”

Spalde said Swedish monopolies are complicit in Turkey’s crimes through their weapons sales and added: “As a Swedish person I don’t want Swedish companies selling weapons to Turkey.”

SWEDISH WEAPONS ARE USED AGAINST THE KURDISH PEOPLE

A group of Kurdistanis attended the protest in Stockholm and demanded that Swedish companies stop selling weapons to Turkey.

Hasan Ince pointed out that Sweden is among the countries that sell the most weapons to Middle Eastern countries: “Swedish law prohibits weapons sales to countries engaged in conflict and countries that violate human rights, but Swedish monopolies continue to sell to Turkey. They do it just for the money.”

Ince said a majority of the weapons sold to Turkey end up in the hands of jihadist groups and ISIS gangs: “These weapons are used against the Kurdish people in Afrin and the rest of Kurdistan. We condemn Sweden’s complicity in Turkey’s war crimes.”

INCREASE IN WEAPONS SALES FOR SWEDEN

Despite being a smaller country, Sweden is among the countries that sell the most weapons. The country was selling weapons to 33 countries in 1990, but in 2017 this number rose to 62.

Since the beginning of 2000, Sweden has increased its weapons sales threefold. In 2017, a total of 11.3 billion Swedish Crowns worth of weapons and equipment for war was sold.

17% of these sales was to Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Qatar, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore and Algeria, all countries with human rights abuses.