BAGHDAD: Iraq Thursday expelled the Swedish ambassador and recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden and warned the Scandi-navian country that it would sever its diplomatic ties with Stockholm if it allowed another planned burning of the Holy Quran.
The decision came hours after hundreds of people stormed and set ablaze the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
In a statement released Thursday, from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, the Iraqi government strongly condemned the burning of the Swedish embassy, declaring it a security breach and vowed to protect diplomatic missions.
The state news agency also reported that Iraq had suspended the working permit of Sweden’s Ericsson on Iraqi soil.
However, the statement also said warning the Swedish government: “Any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Quran on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations.”
Meanwhile, Iraq has also recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden. The protesters had gathered outside the Swedish embassy at 1am on Thursday against another planned burning of the Holy Quran earlier in the day in Stockholm.
The burning of the Holy Quran occurred weeks after a man desecrated the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm, while Muslims celebrated Eid-ul-Adha.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said embassy staff were safe but that Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibil-ity to protect the embassy in accordance with the Vienna Convention.
Billstrom said what happened was “completely unacceptable and the government strongly condemns these attacks”.
He added: “The government is in contact with high-level Iraqi representatives to express our dismay.”
Thursday’s demonstration was called by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, one of Iraq’s most powerful figures with thousands of followers, according to posts in a popular Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.
“Yes, yes to the Quran,” protesters chanted.
Sadr said in a tweet on Thursday that the Iraqi government should not resort only to condemnation and must take a firm posi-tion.
“I will wait for the firm official response before any action of my own”, Sadr tweeted.
After the burning, the man who described himself as an Iraqi refugee seeking to ban the Holy Quran was reported to the police for agitation against an ethnic or national group. –Agencies
