ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the latest act of Quran burning in Sweden as "despicable" and vowed that Ankara would not fall for such provocations.
A man torched a copy of Islam's holy book outside a mosque in central Stockholm on Wednesday, the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday, prompting criticism from many Muslim-majority countries. The demonstration received a go-ahead from police after a court overturned a ban on a similar protest. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the decision "legal but inappropriate."
In a televised address to his AKP party, Erdogan dismissed the controversial protest as an attempt by "the enemies of islam and humanity" to sow discord with police permission.
"Those who allow and condone such despicable acts will not succeed in fulfilling their ambitions. We will not give in to the politics of threats and provocations," the president said.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, speaking at a separate event in the city of Adiyaman, argued that the burning of the religious book in Sweden had nothing to do with freedom of speech and demanded that the Nordic country "take concrete action."
Turkey's Western-backed opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who challenged Erdogan in a recent presidential race, echoed criticism of Sweden's inaction over what he called a "hate crime," while Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the Swedish government bore responsibility for its consequences.
The burning of the Quran has further clouded Sweden's prospects of joining NATO any time soon. Objections to its accession from Turkey, a NATO member, will hang heavily over the alliance's upcoming summit in Vilnius set for July 11-12.
