ASEAN reaction to Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands

ASEAN Foreign Ministers met yesterday in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to discuss regional issues.

In the statement made on the official ASEAN website, it was claimed that the burning and tearing of the Quran by far-right politicians last month in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands were “strongly condemned” at the meeting. .

In the statement, which reported that these actions “harmed religious tolerance,” it was emphasized that freedom of expression must be practiced “responsibly.”

Developments after the 2021 coup in Myanmar and steps to ensure regional peace were also discussed at the meeting.

While reiterating its commitment to abide by the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Agreement, ASEAN called for a constructive and peaceful approach in the South China Sea, which is at the center of sovereignty disputes.

ATTACKED AGAINST THE KORAN

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Strict Direction Party, burned the Quran in front of the Stockholm Embassy in Sweden on January 21 in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and no one was allowed to approach Paludan during the action held under the protection crowded police.

Paludan burned the Koran in front of the mosque and in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen on January 27 in Denmark.

Edwin Wagensveld, leader of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement in the Netherlands, tore up the Koran in an action that he carried out alone in The Hague. (AA)