The protesters, supporters of Moqtada Sadr, tried to join the ultra-secure Green Zone, including embassies. At two authorized public events in Stockholm, the Koran has been desecrated in recent weeks.
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A new mobilization. Iraqi security forces dispersed early Saturday, July 22 hundreds of supporters of Moqtada Sadr in Baghdad who tried to join the ultra-secure Green Zone including embassies. Demonstrators had gathered to protest against desecrations of the Koran amid diplomatic tensions.
>> We explain the controversy between Sweden and Iraq and other Muslim countries
The nocturnal demonstration was prompted by press reports which seem to point to a desecration of the Koran in Denmark. On its Facebook page, the far-right Danske Patrioter movement posted a video on Friday of a man burning what appears to be a Koran and stomping on an Iraqi flag. Contacted by AFP on Saturday, Copenhagen Deputy Chief Inspector Trine Fisker said “confirmed a very small demonstration yesterday in front of the Iraqi embassy: I can also confirm that a book was burned, we do not know which book it was”.
“These actions put all parties in delicate situations”
For several days, the impetuous religious leader Moqtada Sadr has been blowing on the embers, embarrassing the Iraqi authorities against the backdrop of serious regional diplomatic tensions. After two authorized public events in Stockholm during which the Koran was desecrated by an Iraqi refugee, the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was set on fire on Thursday by Sadrist demonstrators, the Iraqi government announced the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador, and regional condemnations followed.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned “the desecration of the holy Quran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy in Denmark”estimating in a press release that these “heinous facts cannot be part of a context of freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration”. “These actions provoke reactions and put all parties in delicate situations”, he warned. However, the ministry reaffirms “its full commitment to the Vienna Convention”ensuring that “the Iraqi government guarantees the protection and security provided to the diplomatic teams”.
Iran also condemned the incident in Copenhagen. “From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Danish government is responsible when it comes to preventing insults to the Holy Quran and all that is sacred in Islam, and should take legal action to punish those who insult them”, asserted the spokesman for Iranian diplomacy. Tehran decreed on Friday that no Swedish ambassador would be accepted in Iran as long as “concrete measures” will not have been taken by Sweden to avoid any further desecration of the Koran on its territory.