Norwegian Police Prohibited Protests And Plans To Burn The Al-Qur'an In Front Of The Turkish Embassy Today, Ankara Call Ambassador Oslo

JAKARTA - A demonstration plan outside the Turkish Embassy in Oslo has been banned, amid fears it will be a protest against the burning of the Al-Qur'an, Norwegian police said.

Turkey summoned the Norwegian Ambassador on Thursday over a protest plan expected to take place this Friday, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and sources of the Turkish ministry said.

The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang first reported that a group of anti-Islamic protesters had plans to burn a copy of the Qur'an at the demonstration.

Norwegian police said on Thursday they had decided, for security reasons, to ban planned demonstrations outside the embassy.

"The police emphasize that burning the Qur'an is a legitimate political statement in Norway, but this event cannot continue due to security concerns," said Police Inspector Oslo Martin Grind, as reported by The National News on February 3.

Ankara strongly condemns the plan, which is said to be a 'provocative act', a source from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The source added that the ministry had requested that demonstrations be canceled.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that Turkey had raised the demonstration plan at a meeting.

"Our ambassador refers to the constitutional right to freedom of expression in Norway, and adds that the Norwegian government does not support or engage in planned demonstrations," explained ministry representative Tuva Bogsnaes.

Generally, Norwegian police can only prohibit demonstrations if there is a danger to society.

A similar incident involving publicly burning the Al-Qur'an over the past two weeks has sparked international outrage.

In Sweden, far-right demonstrators burned a copy of the Qur'an during protests outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm and the burning of the Al-Qur'an which was broadcast live outside a mosque in Denmark. In the Netherlands, pages of the Koran were torn apart during protests near the Hague.

Separately, Turkey summoned ambassadors of nine Western countries, including the United States and Sweden on Thursday, to criticize their decision to temporarily close diplomatic missions and issue security warnings following the Al-Qur'an burning incident in Europe.

Belgian, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swiss and British envoys were also summoned, according to foreign ministry sources in Ankara.