ANKARA, Jan 28 The Turkish Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to be vigilant because of anti-Islamic, xenophobic and racist actions in Europe, according to a statement on the website of the Foreign Ministry.
«Recently, there has been an increase in anti-Islamic, xenophobic and racist acts in some European countries, as well as an increase in propaganda actions against our country by groups associated with terrorist organizations. These events, which reflect the dangerous proportions reached by religious intolerance and hatred in Europe, also clearly show the alarming level of racist and discriminatory movements in Europe,» the statement said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry urged its citizens living in or planning to travel to countries where such demonstrations are taking place to exercise caution.
“We advise you to stay away from areas where demonstrations may intensify, remain calm in the face of possible xenophobic and racist harassment and attacks, contact local security forces, closely monitor local media, and stay tuned for additional warnings and announcements that may be made by security forces. relevant countries, our ministry, our embassies and consulates general in the countries where we are located. If necessary, our citizens living in Europe or planning to travel to European countries can contact the consular information center of our ministry, «the statement says.
Leader of the Danish far-right party «Hard Course» Rasmus Paludan held another action on Friday with burning a copy of the Koran, this time — near the building of the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen, near a mosque in the Danish capital. Later it became known that a similar action was held at the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Denmark, located in Copenhagen. The Russian diplomatic mission condemned such actions.
Before that, on January 21, the leader of the «Hard Deal» burned the sacred book of Muslims at the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, having previously received permission from the Swedish authorities for this action. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on January 23 that Sweden should not count on Turkish support for its bid to join NATO. The leader of the right-wing radical movement Pegida, Edwin Wagensveld, staged an action in The Hague on Monday, tearing out several pages from the Koran, then burning them.