Norway Police Cancel Planned Protest Including Quran Burning
A group of protesters planned to burn a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Oslo on Friday, police said.
“The police emphasize that burning the Quran is a legal political statement in Norway, but this event can’t go ahead due to security concerns,” Oslo police Inspector Martin Strand said in a statement on Thursday.
The move came after Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Norway’s Ambassador Erling Skjonsberg over the planned protest.
“Upon learning that there will be an attack against our holy book, the Quran, in Norway tomorrow, the Norwegian ambassador to Turkiye [Turkey] has just been summoned to our ministry,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Anadolu Agency earlier on Thursday.
“[Norway’s] approach not to prevent the planned provocative act, which is clearly a hate crime … is unacceptable and we expect this act not to be allowed,” the source added.
The incident follows a protest in Sweden’s capital last month near the Turkish embassy, where far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran.
Turkey denounced Sweden for the Quran burning, as well as for a separate demonstration by Kurdish activists supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that has waged an uprising against the Turkish state since 1984 and that Turkey, the European Union and the United States have designated a “terrorist” group.
Separately on Thursday, Turkey summoned the ambassadors and top envoys of nine countries to condemn the closures of several European consulates in Istanbul due to security concerns.
The United States and several European powers have advised citizens not to attend mass events and avoid tourist hotspots in central Istanbul because of a heightened terror threat.
At least seven European countries have closed their Istanbul consulates to the general public as a precaution. The US consulate, which is not located in the city centre, remains open.
Source: Al Jazeera
