Swedish PM "extremely concerned" about book burnings
Despite the government's fears, new burnings are being planned. Photo EPA, Arshad Arbab
Northern Europe
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday he is "extremely concerned" about the consequences if more Qurans are burned. Nevertheless, another burning is scheduled for Friday.
Kristersson fears something bad will happen if the protests continue, he told Swedish news agency TT. "I am extremely worried about what it could lead to," he said. According to him, several requests have been made for such demonstrations next week, causing anger, especially in Muslim countries. Earlier, the prime minister stressed that the state is not involved in burning religious books and that, according to the constitution, the police give permits for public gatherings.
On Thursday, Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström reiterated that the state does not approve of the burnings and is not behind them, despite what people in some countries would think. "These are acts carried out by individuals. They do it within the framework of the laws on freedom of expression," the minister said.
Threats
Amidst the unrest, the Swedish Security Police (Säpo) warned on Wednesday that the security situation in Sweden has further deteriorated. Still, the Säpo believes that the public does not need to worry. "One must feel confident that Säpo continuously and constantly works to assess the threats against Sweden and takes the measures necessary to meet the threat picture that we see", says Adam Samara, press spokesperson at Säpo, to the Swedish Christian daily Dagen.
According to the spokesperson, churches should not be worried about an attack. However, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, the Minister for Civil Defence, urges the public to "pay attention to anomalies out of the normal picture."
The government further accused Russia and other state-funded parties of spreading disinformation about the Koran burnings. The campaign allegedly aims to damage Sweden's reputation and hinder Sweden's bid to join NATO. Stockholm wants to join the military alliance because of the war in Ukraine.
War
Despite all the unrest, the police still permitted burning a holy book this Friday. The woman behind the application says she wants to burn a Torah at the Israeli embassy. Earlier this month, as CNE reported, a man seemed to plan the same. However, when he arrived, the man threw his lighter on the ground, saying he did not intend to burn any books. He also warned about the recent developments. "We live in the same society. When I burn a Torah, someone else the Bible and a third person the Quran, war will break out here."
In addition to this application, Swedish police have received several applications to burn Qurans, Swedish public broadcaster SVT states. These include several applications to burn flags and Qurans in front of the Iranian embassy.
Related Articles
