Sweden’s permission to burn the Koran ‘racist’, ‘hate crime’: Cavusoglu
The permission Sweden gave for Koran burning is not freedom of expression, says Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, adding that racism and hate crimes are not freedom of thought.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said he hoped Swedish authorities would not allow a protest that includes burning the Koran.
“This permission is given to this person, despite all our warnings. This heinous act will take place around 1600 Turkish time (1300 GMT), I hope that the Swedish authorities will take the necessary measures until then and will not allow this” , Cavusoglu told reporters on Saturday.
Cavusoglu also said the protest could not be classified as freedom of expression.
Earlier on Saturday, Ankara canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson’s upcoming visit to Türkiye in response to Sweden’s permission for a planned burning of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
“Unfortunately, we witnessed that no action was taken as a result of these vile and despicable acts against Türkiye and our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan). Therefore, Swedish Defense Minister Jonson’s visit to Türkiye on January 27 has become meaningless at this time. So we canceled the visit,” Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters on Friday after a NATO meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The move Akar announced came after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, was given permission to burn the Koran on Saturday outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he is concerned that the demonstration risks further delaying Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid.
READ MORE: Turkey calls Swedish envoy over permission to burn Koran in Stockholm
Crimes against humanity
Akar said it was unacceptable to remain silent about the incident, adding: “It was necessary to take action and take precautions.”
Akar stressed Turkey’s support for NATO’s open-door policy, adding: “All we want is to fulfill the commitments in this memorandum. We expect Sweden and Finland to do their part, their homework.”
Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin also wrote on Twitter that the burning of the Holy Koran in Stockholm is a “hate crime and a crime against humanity”.
“Allowing this act despite all our warnings encourages hate crimes and Islamophobia. The attack on sacred values is not freedom, but modern barbarism,” he added.
READ MORE: Danish far-right party leader burns a copy of the Holy Koran in Sweden
Source: TRTWorld and agencies