Australia thanks Iraq for protecting diplomatic missions in Baghdad
The flag of Iraq. Photo: Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ambassador to Australia, Bassim Hatab Al-Tuma, received a phone call from the Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Michelle Chan, to express her government’s appreciation for measures taken by the Iraqi authorities to protect the diplomatic missions in Baghdad, including the Australian embassy, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
Chan also expressed the Australian government’s rejection of the desecration of the Quran and hate speech, stressing Australia’s pride in its ethnic and religious diversity.
Al-Tuma indicated that the Iraqi government is committed to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Iraqi ambassador elaborated that demonstrations took place in Iraq because of the repeated desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, where the Swedish authorities allowed an extremist to burn the Quran and hurt the feelings of two billion Muslims in the world.
Last week, the Australian embassy in Iraq issued a statement condemning the desecration of the Quran and the attack on the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
The statement mentioned that Australia unequivocally opposes the desecration of the Quran and other religious texts.
On July 20, Protesters set fire to Sweden’s embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, ahead of a planned burning of a Quran in Sweden, AFP reported.
Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organizers plan to burn a copy of the Quran as well as an Iraqi flag, AFP added.