Jun 29, 2023 at 4:24 PMUpdate: 4 minutes ago
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry about a Quran burning in Sweden. Arrogant Westerners will learn that insulting Muslims has nothing to do with freedom of speech, he said on Turkish television. Angry protesters have stormed the Swedish embassy in Iraq.
In Stockholm, an activist set fire to pages of a Koran on Wednesday. He also wiped his feet on it and put bacon in it. The latter is a sensitive issue, because Muslims do not eat pork because of their religion. Erdogan finds it unacceptable that the Swedish authorities allow such protests.
The Swedish police allowed the demonstration because the judge had ruled earlier this year that Quran protests should not be banned under the Swedish constitution. That judgment followed Koran burnings that the Swedish government had banned earlier this year.
After Wednesday’s protest, the Swedish police announced that they would open an investigation into organizer Salwan Momika. In addition to Turkey, other Islamic countries have also reacted angrily. For example, the United Arab Emirates have summoned the Swedish ambassador.
Protesters allegedly storm Swedish embassy in Iraq
It is restless on Thursday at the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. According to The Express the embassy building has been stormed. According to the newspaper, this happened after a call from the Shia leader Muqtada Al Sadr to boycott Sweden and to expel the Swedish ambassador.
The evening paper reports that a Swedish flag has been set on fire. In a letter to the newspaper, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is in constant contact with the embassy. The embassy staff is safe, according to the ministry. After the arrival of Iraqi security forces, the demonstrators are said to have left the building.
Tensions are not good for Sweden
Sweden can’t exactly use a new diplomatic spat with Turkey. The country still has to agree to Sweden’s accession to NATO. The military alliance will hold a summit in Vilnius next month and Sweden hopes to join. All NATO member states must give the green light for this.
But Hungary is also somewhat uncooperative, as it turned out on Wednesday. The opposition in the Hungarian parliament said that a proposal to vote on Sweden’s NATO membership has been rejected.
Ágnes Vadai of opposition party DK said after a closed committee meeting that a proposal for a vote next week has been rejected. The government parties were opposed, she said. Indeed, the parliamentary agenda published on Thursday does not have a vote on Sweden scheduled for next week.
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Swedish Prime Minister reacts with concern
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is concerned. He said on Thursday he would discuss the matter with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán. “I was previously told that Hungary has no plans to postpone matters related to Sweden’s NATO membership,” said the prime minister, who wants to know whether the country has backtracked on this.
Opposition member Vadai previously stressed to the news agency Reuters that her party will try to force a vote next Monday. She accuses the Orbán government of working with Turkey to damage the “unity of NATO”. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to ratify for the NATO summit at the moment.”
Turkey is under international pressure to approve Sweden’s accession, but Erdogan seems unimpressed. Earlier this week, the president said in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he is not yet satisfied. According to the Turkish leader, Stockholm has taken a step in the right direction, but the conditions are still unacceptable, he says.
2023-06-29 14:24:31
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