New mobilization to protest against the desecrations of the Koran in Denmark, after an auto-da-fé in Sweden. Iraqi security forces dispersed hundreds of supporters of Moqtada Sadr early this Saturday, who demonstrated in Baghdad before trying to join the ultra-secure Green Zone, a secure neighborhood housing government institutions and embies.
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 this Saturday by AFP, the deputy chief inspector of the Copenhagen police Trine Fisker, “confirmed a very small demonstration yesterday in front of the Iraqi emby: I can also confirm that a book was burned, we do not know what book it was “.
The Danish emby in the sights of the demonstrators
In response, several hundred protesters gathered in the center of the Iraqi capital after 1 a.m. (2200 GMT) in Tahrir Square. According to an AFP photographer, they were most often young men, chanting “Yes, yes to the Koran” and some of them brandishing portraits of the influential religious leader Moqtada Sadr.
Security forces had cut two bridges leading to the Green Zone, but the protesters, around a thousand, tried to force their way through and clashes broke out when they were repelled and finally dispersed before dawn, an official at the Interior Ministry confirmed to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to him, the demonstrators were trying to rally the Danish emby.
On Thursday, supporters of Sadr attacked at night and burned down the Swedish Emby. They were reacting to two rallies organized to desecrate the Koran in Stockholm, the first at the end of June, the second Thursday. These events caused a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and Iraqwho expelled the swedish ambador.
Iraq and Iran condemn Quran desecrations
Early Saturday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry sentenced in a press release “the desecration of the holy Koran and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi emby in Denmark”. “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 diplomatic teams”. “We cannot allow what happened with the Emby of the Kingdom of Sweden to happen again,” he insisted.
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,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ner Kanani said in a statement.
THURSDAY, Paris condemns the attack on the Swedish Emby during the demonstration organized by supporters of religious leader Moqtada Sadr.