Türkiye says Norway banned Quran-burning protest after warning

In this Feb 1, 2023 photo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a joint news conference with Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu during their meeting in Tallinn, Estonia. Norway reversed its permission for a protest involving Quran burning after a warning from Türkiye, Cavusoglu said on Feb 2, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

ANKARA – Norway reversed its permission for a protest involving Quran burning after a warning from Türkiye, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.
"You saw what happened in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. The same thing was going to happen in Norway. Today, we summoned the Norwegian ambassador. And they withdrew the permission they granted," Cavusoglu told a press conference.

Finland has also cancelled the permission for a protest involving Quran burning, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said

"A crime against humanity is not freedom of expression. This is a hate crime. Hate is not freedom of expression," he said.

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Finland has also cancelled the permission, the Turkish minister added.
Earlier in the day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to ask Oslo to prevent a planned Quran protest in the Nordic country.
Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark have seen protests involving burning or tearing of the Quran in the past few weeks, triggering a backlash from Türkiye.
Türkiye has threatened not to approve Sweden's NATO bid after protests against the Turkish president and the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.