By Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Johan Ahlander
COPENHAGEN/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday he hoped the government’s proposal to limit Koran burnings in the country would help de-escalate a growing international conflict with several Muslim countries.
Denmark and Sweden have seen several protests in recent weeks where copies of the Koran have been burned, or otherwise damaged, prompting outrage in Muslim countries, which have demanded the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings.
The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a “legal tool” that could enable authorities to intervene in such protests, if deemed to entail “significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security”.
“The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing,” Rasmussen told journalists following a meeting with foreign policy speakers of parliament on Monday.
“It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us,” Rasmussen said, adding: “We shouldn’t just sit and wait for this to explode.”
The Nordic countries have deplored the burnings of the Koran but cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech.
However, both governments have now said they are considering legal changes that would allow authorities to prevent further burnings in special situations.
The Swedish government said this month it is examining a similar solution but right-wing parties in both countries have denounced the initiatives, with some saying freedom of speech cannot be compromised.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday that he had sent letters to all 57 countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to explain Sweden’s right to assembly and condemned islamophobic acts.
OIC foreign ministers will convene in an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the recent developments.
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm; editing by David Evans)
