Saturday’s burning of a Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm “is yet another symbol of the growing hatred of religions,” United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres said Monday.
Guterres was referring to the public burning of a Quran in front of the Turkish embassy last Saturday by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who also displayed a drawing mocking the sexuality of the Prophet Mohammed.
In his daily press briefing, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Guterres believes such acts “should be totally condemned”, in line with other convictions recorded over the weekend by Muslim countries, but also by the Swedish government. itself and the European Commission.
Guterres endorsed the words of the high representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who on Sunday condemned this act of burning the Quran, saying “it is an expression of hatred against Muslims”.
“It is disrespectful and offensive to followers of Islam and should not be interpreted as a sign of freedom of expression”Moratinos said in a statement.
The Koran burning in Stockholm sparked protests from the Turkish government – which threatened to stop supporting Sweden’s entry into NATO – and other Muslim-majority countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Morocco.
A police officer and seven demonstrators were injured in Baghdad on Monday during a demonstration organized in front of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital to protest the burning of a copy of the Koran in Stockholm.
An Iraqi interior ministry source quoted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP) said that between 400 and 500 protesters protested in front of the Swedish diplomatic mission in Baghdad and tried to enter the embassy building after being stopped by police. the police, which led to the clashes.
In neighboring Syria, in al-Bab, a northern city controlled by Turkish forces, several hundred people also demonstrated for the same reasons, the AFP correspondent reported.
Protesters burned the Swedish flag and chanted slogans against the Scandinavian country.
The Swedish police then considered that the constitution and freedom of demonstration and expression in Sweden did not justify the ban on this demonstration in the name of public order.
Source: DN
