The burning of a Koran on Saturday in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm “is yet another symbol of the growing hatred against religions,” said the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, on Monday.
Guterres was referring to the public burning, last Saturday, of a Koran in front of the Turkish embassy by the far-right activist Rasmus Paludan, who also exhibited a drawing that mocked the sexuality of the Prophet Muhammad.
In his daily press conference, the UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said that Guterres considers that this type of act “should be totally condemned”, in line with other condemnations that were registered during the weekend from Muslim countries, but also from the Swedish Government. herself and the European Commission.
Guterres endorsed the words expressed by the high representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who on Sunday condemned this act of burning the Koran and said that “it is an expression of hatred against Muslims.”
“It is disrespectful and an insult to the followers of Islam and should not be interpreted as a sign of freedom of expression,” Moratinos said in a statement.
The burning of the Koran in Stockholm sparked protests from the Turkish government, which has threatened to stop supporting Sweden’s NATO membership, and other Muslim-majority countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Morocco.
A policeman and seven demonstrators were injured today in Baghdad during a demonstration organized in front of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital to protest against the burning of a copy of the Koran in Stockholm.
A source from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, quoted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP), said that between 400 and 500 demonstrators protested in front of the Swedish diplomatic mission in Baghdad and tried to enter the embassy building, having been stopped by the policeman, which sparked the clashes.
In neighboring Syria, in al-Bab, a northern city under the control of Turkish forces, a few hundred people also demonstrated for the same reasons, the AFP correspondent reported.
Protesters burned the Swedish flag and chanted slogans against the Nordic country.
The Swedish police then considered that the Constitution and the freedoms of demonstration and expression in Sweden did not justify the prohibition of this demonstration in the name of public order.
Source: TSF
