Türkiye Urges Denmark to Take Urgent Action to Prevent Quran Burnings

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Türkiye Urges Denmark to Take Urgent Action to Prevent Quran Burnings

 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press conference with his South Korean counterpart in Ankara on July 29, 2023. (AFP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday urged Denmark to take urgent action to prevent burnings of the holy Quran, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

In a phone call with his Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Fidan condemned the "continuous vile attacks against the Quran".

He told Rasmussen it was unacceptable to allow such actions under the guise of freedom of expression, the source said.

Rasmussen on Saturday wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter: " Türkiye and Denmark are close allies. Important to not let these acts succeed in creating division."

He also reiterated Denmark's "strong condemnation of these provocative acts by few individuals."

The comments came after a small group of anti-Islam activists set fire to Qurans in front of the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in Copenhagen on Tuesday, after similar protests in Denmark and Sweden over recent weeks.

Denmark and Sweden have deplored the burning of Islam's holy book but say they cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.



More than 1,000 Arrested Following UK Riots

An anti-immigration protester is detained by police officers, in Newcastle, Britain August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
An anti-immigration protester is detained by police officers, in Newcastle, Britain August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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More than 1,000 Arrested Following UK Riots

An anti-immigration protester is detained by police officers, in Newcastle, Britain August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
An anti-immigration protester is detained by police officers, in Newcastle, Britain August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

British authorities have now arrested more than 1,000 people following days of rioting involving violence, arson and looting as well as racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants, a national policing body said on Tuesday.
The riots, which followed the killings of three young girls in the northern English town of Southport, began after the July 29 attack was wrongly blamed on a migrant based on online misinformation.
Violence broke out in cities across England and also in Northern Ireland, but there have been fewer instances of unrest since last week after efforts to identify those involved were ramped up, Reuters said.
Many have been swiftly jailed, with some receiving long sentences
The National Police Chiefs' Council said in its latest update that 1,024 had been arrested and 575 charged across the UK.
Those arrested include a 69-year-old accused of vandalism in Liverpool.
A 13-year-old girl pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, prosecutors said, having been seen on July 31 punching and kicking the entrance to a hotel for asylum seekers.
"This alarming incident will have caused genuine fear amongst people who were being targeted by these thugs – and it is particularly distressing to learn that such a young girl participated in this violent disorder," prosecutor Thomas Power said.
The last time Britain witnessed widespread rioting was in 2011, when the fatal shooting of a Black man by police triggered several days of street violence.
Fast and tough judicial action was viewed as helping quell the unrest in 2011, when around 4,000 people were arrested over several weeks.