Today, Thursday, Iraq threatened to sever its diplomatic relations with Sweden in the event of repeated burning of the Holy Qur’an in the European country. Sweden stormed its embassy in Baghdad and summoned the Iraqi ambassador to protest.
A statement of the Iraqi government, issued after an emergency meeting that followed the setting on fire at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad at dawn today, stated that the Iraqi government informed its Swedish counterpart yesterday, Wednesday, through diplomatic channels, to go to sever diplomatic relations in the event of a repeat of the incident of burning the Qur’an on Swedish soil, and to grant approvals for that under pretext of freedom of expression.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, decided to withdraw the Iraqi charge d’affaires to Sweden, and an official in the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office confirmed to Al-Jazeera that Baghdad had decided to expel the Swedish ambassador.
This comes hours after demonstrators stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad to protest against what they say is Sweden’s decision to allow a demonstration in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm today, Thursday, during which the Qur’an is being burned.
Undo the burn
On the other hand, Reuters said that protesters in Sweden did not burn today, Thursday, a copy of the Koran, but threw it and tore it in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm.
On June 28, an Iraqi resident in Sweden tore up a copy of the Qur’an and set it on fire at the Stockholm Central Mosque, after the police granted him permission to organize a gathering in implementation of a judicial decision. Sweden’s permission to burn the Qur’an was met with widespread condemnation and condemnation in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
A spokesman for the Iraqi government, on behalf of Al-Awada, told Al-Jazeera that Baghdad was surprised yesterday by the repeated incident of burning the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy.
The spokesman stressed that anyone should be prevented from burning the Qur’an “under the pretext that he does not like this holy book,” stressing that burning the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag created great sensitivity in the Iraqi street and affects the stability of the security situation in the country.
Regarding the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, the government spokesman said that what happened was a security breach, and that the Iraqi government “has developed a new strategy to protect all diplomatic missions.”
The office of the Iraqi Prime Minister said that those responsible for the burning of the Swedish embassy, who were arrested, will be referred to the judiciary, and that the negligent security officials will be referred to the investigation.
The Iraqi News Agency stated that the Communications and Media Commission suspended the license to operate the Swedish company Ericsson for communications in Iraqi territory, in response to Stockholm’s permission to burn the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag.
Swedish response
The Swedish embassy in Iraq announced the closure of its doors and the suspension of its services due to the demonstrations until further notice, and the Swedish Foreign Ministry stated that all employees of its embassy in Baghdad are safe.
A statement by the Swedish Foreign Ministry stated that the authorities summoned the Iraqi ambassador in Stockholm in response to the attack on the embassy in Baghdad, and the Swedish Foreign Ministry held the Iraqi authorities responsible for protecting diplomatic missions and their employees.
Stockholm condemned all attacks on diplomats and staff of international organizations, and the Swedish Foreign Ministry considered the attacks on embassies and diplomats a serious violation of the Vienna Convention regulating relations between the countries of the world.
For his part, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, said in a statement to Al-Jazeera that the Swedish government was clear in its position regarding burning a copy of the Noble Qur’an on its lands, and Bildt added that the Iraqi government should have protected its diplomatic relations with Sweden, as he put it.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom described the storming of his country’s embassy in Baghdad as completely unacceptable, and accused the Iraqi authorities of failing to carry out their responsibility to protect diplomatic missions.
Washington condemns
The US State Department strongly condemned the attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, and the ministry said that the failure of the Iraqi security forces to prevent demonstrators from penetrating the Swedish embassy compound for the second time is unacceptable.
She added that foreign missions should not be targets of violence, and called on the Iraqi government to fulfill its international obligations to protect all diplomatic missions.
The United Nations Mission in Iraq condemned the attack on the Swedish embassy, and indicated in a tweet that the right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental right, stressing that priority should be given to the safety of all and respect for the Vienna Convention.
The UN mission said that combating hate speech with violence does not benefit anyone.
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2023-07-20 15:33:44
