JAKARTA - The burning of the Turkish flag during a demonstration against the conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque in Thessaloniki, Greece has drawn criticism. The protesters are seen as harassing the state symbol.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense delivered an open protest. "We strongly condemn and condemn the burning of the Turkish flag in Thessaloniki, Greece," he said, quoted by Yenisafak, Monday, July 27.
"We warn that such provocation and harassment and the like must be stopped immediately. The dirty hands that burn our glorious flag will be destroyed," the Defense Ministry said on its official Twitter account.
Even so, the Greek government as a local authority also condemned the abuse of the Turkish flag. They threatened to take firm action against the arsonists.
"We firmly condemn any act which tarnishes the national symbol of any country, in this case Turkey," wrote Middleeastmonitor.com.
According to information, the perpetrators of the burning of the Turkish flag on Friday, July 24 were a right-wing Greek extremist group. The protests followed the first Friday prayers at the Hagia Sophia in 86 years.
Historically, the Hagia Sophia was an important place of worship for Orthodox Christians for centuries, until Istanbul - which later became known as Constantinople - fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Since then, the Hagia Sophia was built into a mosque. Then, after the presence of the Republic of Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the status of Hagia Spohia was changed to a museum in 1934.
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