Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – Indonesia also strongly condemns the burning of the Al-Qur`an (Quran/Koran) by a Swedish-right-wing extremist in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday (21/1).
“Indonesia strongly condemns the act of burning the holy Koran by Rasmus Paludan, a Swedish politician, in Stockholm,” said a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its official account on Twitter on Sunday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the action was a blasphemy against the holy book and hurt and tarnished religious tolerance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also emphasized that freedom of speech should be exercised responsibly.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom has responded to the Quran burning incident in his country.
“Islamophobic provocations are appalling. Sweden respects freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean the Swedish government, or myself, supports the opinions expressed,” Billstrom said on Twitter.
Billstrom has previously said the demonstrations could increase the risk of delaying Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s application for NATO membership.
Quoted from the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party burned the Al-Quran with permission from the government and police protection.
The Swedish government allows the burning of the Koran because it sees it as part of freedom of expression and opinion.
The arson occurred during demonstrations against Turkey’s demand last week for Sweden to take firm steps against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), which Turkey considers a terror group.
Sweden and Finland officially applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) last year.
However, Turkey objected and accused the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and the Fetullah terrorist organization (FETO). (mhn/bbs)
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