Turkey Expected Sweden To Prevent Planned Quran Burning In Stockholm -Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

Turkey expected the Swedish government to take steps to prevent the planned burning of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2023) Turkey expected the Swedish government to take steps to prevent the planned burning of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Media reported on Friday that leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, had received permission to burn a copy of the Quran, islam's holy book, in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The protest was supposed to start at 2 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.

"No one can call it freedom of speech and expression. Racism and hatred cannot be called freedom of expression ... We hope that Sweden will take appropriate measures to prevent this protest from being held," Cavusoglu told reporters.

The Turkish top diplomat added that Ankara had taken "appropriate steps" upon learning about the scheduled protest. In particular, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador in connection with the matter, while the Turkish ambassador held a meeting with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom.

Earlier on Saturday, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin also condemned the planned protest, calling it "a hateful crime against humanity." The official accused the Swedish authorities of greenlighting the action, which, as Ankara believes, encourages "hate crimes and Islamophobia."

"Attacking sacred values is not freedom but modern barbarism," Kalin tweeted.

Later in the day, Paludan burnt a copy of the Quran near the building of the Turkish embassy, media reported.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the act, calling it a "vile attack" on the holy book committed despite Ankara's repeated warnings.

"Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of 'freedom of expression' is completely unacceptable. This is an outright hate crime. This despicable act is yet another example of the alarming level that Islamophobia and, racist and discriminatory movements have reached in Europe," the ministry said.

In addition, Ankara urged the Swedish authorities to "take necessary measures against the perpetrators of this hate crime" and invite all countries and international organizations to take a stand against Islamophobia.

Earlier in January, the supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), labeled as terrorist in Ankara, held a demonstration in the Swedish capital, hanging an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by its feet. The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara in protest of the PKK rally. In addition, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case in connection with the demonstration.

On January 15, Erdogan said that Sweden and Finland needed to extradite about 130 terrorists to Turkey if they wanted the Turkish parliament to ratify their NATO bids. On Saturday, Turkey unilaterally canceled the upcoming visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson to Ankara, where he was supposed to discuss Stockholm's application for NATO membership.