LAHORE MIRROR (Reuters) — Iraq told Sweden it would sever diplomatic ties if a Koran is burned again, after hundreds of people stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and set it alight in a protest against plans for one to be burned in Stockholm later on Thursday.
The Iraqi government strongly condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy, according to a statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani which declared it a security breach and vowed to protect diplomatic missions.
But Baghdad had also “informed the Swedish government … that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Qur’an on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations”, the statement said.
Billstrom said what happened was “completely unacceptable and the government strongly condemns these attacks”. He added: “The government is in contact with high-level Iraqi representatives to express our dismay.”
Thursday’s demonstration was called by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtal al- Sadr to protest against the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a popular Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.
Sadr, one of Iraq’s most powerful figures, commands hundreds of thousands of followers, whom he has at times called to the streets, including last summer when they occupied Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and engaged in deadly clashes.
Sadr said in a tweet on Thursday that the Iraqi government should not resort only to condemnation and must take a firm position.
“I will wait for the firm official response before any action of my own”, Sadr tweeted.
Finnish news agency STT reported that the Finnish embassy, which is in part of the same enclosure as the Swedish, had also been evacuated but that staff were safe and unhurt.
Swedish police on Wednesday granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday, the police permit showed, and two people were expected to participate.
Swedish news agency TT reported that the two planned to burn the Koran and the Iraqi flag at the public meeting, and the duo included a man who had set a Koran on fire outside a Stockholm mosque in June.
Swedish police denied several applications earlier this year for protests that were set to include burning the Koran, citing security concerns. Courts have since overturned the police’s decisions, saying such acts are protected by the country’s far-reaching freedom of speech laws.
