Iraq cuts off its diplomatic relations with Sweden and suspends the work of a company for it. Al-Maliki supports and Rashid condemns
Iraq cuts off its diplomatic relations with Sweden and suspends the work of a company for it. Al-Maliki supports and Rashid condemns
2023-07-20 04:37
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government decided, on Thursday, to withdraw its Chargé d’Affaires in Stockholm, and expel the Swedish ambassador from the country’s lands, in protest against allowing a demonstration in which the Qur’an was torn and burned for the second time.
The government spokesman, Basem Al-Awadi, said in a statement today that the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a Al-Sudani, directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to withdraw the Iraqi Chargé d’Affairs from the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
He also directed a request from the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave Iraqi territory, in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Holy Qur’an, insult Islamic sanctities and burn the Iraqi flag, according to Al-Awadi.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Sahhaf, stated in a brief statement that: “It was directed to withdraw the Iraqi embassy in Sweden and to inform the Swedish ambassador to leave Iraq.”
For its part, an armed Shiite faction calling itself the “Islamic Resistance, People of the Cave” called on the fighters under its banner to target Sweden’s interests.
In a statement attributed to this faction, he said: O cavemen, search for all Swedish interests and destroy them.
The statement added, “O cavemen, search for every Swede who is an Israeli Jew and uses the cover of Sweden,” adding that “everything that is going on is planned and managed by the International Jewish Home.”
And the armed faction continued in its statement, “The Jews are our enemies, so search for them and kill them wherever you find them.”
In addition, the head of the Media and Communications Authority, Ali Al-Moayyed, announced the suspension of the work license of the Swedish company Ericsson for communications in the Iraqi territories, due to the country’s permission to burn the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag.
In a statement, the Minister of Communications, Hayam Al-Yasiri, directed a ban on dealing by the ministry and its formations with all Swedish companies.
As for the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, he commented on the Iraqi government’s decision in a tweet on Twitter, saying, “We support the government’s decision to withdraw the Iraqi representation from Sweden and demand the Swedish ambassador to Baghdad to leave Iraqi territory in defense of the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an, Islamic sanctities, and Iraqi sovereignty.”
He called on those he called “Islamic countries to follow the example of Iraq’s position in severing relations with Sweden and expelling ambassadors, to be a deterrent to anyone who allows aggression against Islam, Muslims and all divine religions.”
In turn, the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, condemned in a statement “strongly the irresponsible behavior of trying to repeat the attack on the Book of God the Wise and daring to flag the Iraqi state.”
And he expressed “great surprise at the failure of the Swedish authorities to take the position required of a country that respects beliefs and sanctities, and this is what pushes the problem to more complexity and exacerbates feelings of anger at violations that must be deterred and put an end to them.”
The Iraqi president said, “He was keen to alert and warn the authorities in Sweden, directly and through diplomatic channels, in order to respect the feelings of Muslims and prevent this deviant behavior.
Rashid pointed out that “in these circumstances, the right of peaceful and informed expression to protest against these actions is supported, taking into account respect for the country’s responsibilities in preserving diplomatic traditions and adherence to international norms and laws.”
This comes at a time when the Swedish capital, Stockholm, witnessed earlier today, Thursday, a demonstration organized by the so-called Silwan Momica, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, by desecrating the Qur’an and the Iraqi flag in front of the Iraqi embassy there, as this person recently burned a copy of the Qur’an, which angered Muslims in countries of the world in general and Iraq in particular.
And the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was set on fire at dawn on Thursday during a demonstration organized by supporters of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, in order to allow the Swedish authorities to organize a demonstration to burn the Koran.
For its part, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in a statement “in the strongest terms” the burning of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Baghdad, calling for the launch of an “urgent investigation” into the incident.
The statement stated that “the Iraqi government instructed the competent security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures with the aim of uncovering the circumstances of the incident and identifying the perpetrators of this act and holding them accountable according to the law.”
And Silwan Momica, who wants to burn the Qur’an in Sweden today, Thursday, is an Iraqi refugee there, and on June 28 he also burned pages of a copy of the Qur’an in front of the largest mosque in Stockholm on Eid al-Adha.
In response to the storming of its embassy, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said: We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff of international organizations. All employees of our embassy in Baghdad are safe and the ministry is in regular contact with them.
She added that the attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention, and the Iraqi authorities bear the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and their personnel.
The First Karkh Investigation Court decided to arrest 20 suspects who participated in the attack on the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Baghdad, according to a statement issued by the Supreme Judicial Council.
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