Sweden’s prime minister has accused Russia of utilizing a “disinformation marketing campaign” to tarnish Stockholm’s picture overseas, alleging that Moscow has unfold false claims in regards to the latest Quran-burning incidents within the Swedish capital.
Ulf Kristersson took to social media on Wednesday to declare that “states and state-like actors” have been concentrating on Sweden with misinformation.
“Amongst different issues, we see that Russian actors are energetic in spreading the false declare that Sweden as a state can be behind the desecration of assorted scriptures. That’s, in fact, utterly fallacious,” the PM wrote, including that the Quran-burnings have come amid “an advanced safety scenario.”
Kristersson defined that the Swedish authorities “doesn’t difficulty permissions to burn copies of the Quran” in public. “Nevertheless, the police difficulty permits for public gatherings – a proper that’s enshrined in Sweden’s structure,” he burdened, including that “how that proper is then exercised is as much as what the person decides for himself.”
Stockholm police accepted two protests exterior Iraq’s embassy in Sweden in latest weeks, permitting demonstrators to burn and in any other case destroy copies of the Quran. The stunts triggered worldwide backlash, with Baghdad expelling the Swedish ambassador and recalling its personal envoy in retaliation.
Iraqis angered by the desecration of the Islamic holy e-book marched on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad final week, breaching the constructing and setting it on fireplace earlier than being turned away by safety forces.
A number of different Muslim nations have condemned Sweden over the controversy, amongst them Türkiye, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.
Russian officers additionally condemned the burnings of the Quran in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. The State Duma – the decrease home of the nation’s parliament – launched a press release arguing that the stunts “completely don’t have anything in frequent with democracy or the liberty of speech.” President Vladimir Putin described the assaults on the Quran as hate crimes, which might not be tolerated in Russia.
A gaggle of lawmakers declared that each Russian MPs and Muslims around the globe have been “outraged” by the transfer. They pushed again on Stockholm’s rationale to permit the demonstrations, arguing “The desecration of sacred objects has nothing to do with freedom of speech and faith.”
Earlier this yr, Finland’s prime diplomat Pekka Haavisto leveled allegations much like Kristersson’s, claiming Moscow might have been behind one more Quran-burning carried out by an anti-Islam activist in January. The Russian International Ministry additionally condemned that incident, and rejected Haavisto’s allegations as “disgusting.”
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