Oslo Police Lieutenant Martin Strand said a demonstration in the Norwegian capital “cannot take place due to security concerns”.
Norwegian police banned a planned protest, which included burning a copy of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, hours after Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to lodge a complaint.
Police said a group of protesters had planned to burn copies of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Oslo on Friday.
Oslo Police Inspector Martin Strand said Thursday: “Police have stressed that burning the Quran is a legal political statement in Norway, but the event cannot proceed due to safety concerns.” said.
The move comes after Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Norwegian ambassador Erling Skijonsberg over the planned protests.
“When we learned that the attack on our holy book, the Koran, would take place in Norway tomorrow, the Norwegian Ambassador to Turkiye said: [Turkey] He has just been summoned to our ministry,” a Turkish diplomatic source told the Anadolu Agency on Thursday.
“[Norway’s] An approach that does not prevent planned provocations that are clearly hate crimes is unacceptable and we hope that this act will not be permitted,” the source added.
The incident follows protests near the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital last month, where far-right Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Pardan burned a copy of the Quran.
Turkey accused Sweden of burning the Quran, as did another demonstration by Kurdish activists supporting the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). The US has designated a “terrorist” group.
After the protests, Turkey canceled a visit by the Swedish Defense Minister aimed at overcoming Turkish opposition to NATO membership.
Sweden and Finland were moving toward an agreement with Turkey on joining the Nordic military alliance, but disagreements cast doubt on the process.
Stockholm on Thursday said it would tighten laws covering membership in “terrorist” organizations, months after an agreement with Turkey on fighting “terrorism” aimed at overcoming opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership. Announced.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara’s position with Finland was “positive” but with Sweden it was “not positive”.
In response, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Birstrom said Sweden would not compromise on freedom of expression that is not part of the stipulated agreement.
The Nordic countries submitted their applications for NATO membership on May 18, reversing decades of non-alignment policies.
Norway is a founding member of the 30-member NATO alliance created in 1949. Unanimous approval of all members is required for a country to join her NATO alliance.
Separately, on Thursday, Turkey summoned ambassadors and top envoys from nine countries to condemn the closure of several European consulates in Istanbul over security concerns.
The United States and several European powers have advised their citizens not to attend large events and to avoid tourist hotspots in central Istanbul due to the growing threat of terrorism.
At least seven European countries have closed their consulates in Istanbul to the public as a precautionary measure. U.S. consulates not located in the city center will remain open.
