Stockholm [Sweden], August 2: Given the tense security situation in Sweden due to Quran burnings, the government wants to increase border checks, with a decision about the border measures to be made on Thursday.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced the plan at a press conference on Tuesday, according to the Swedish news agency TT.
Kristersson, from the Moderate Party, had previously expressed great concern about the burnings. The government fears that Islamist extremists could use the Quran burnings as an opportunity to attack Sweden at home and abroad.
Sweden is facing its most difficult security situation since World War II, the prime minister has said.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the police will be given extended powers to carry out vehicle and personal checks as early as Tuesday. Kristersson said that the police will also examine how Quran burnings can be prevented.
The Swedish government is also continuing to review the Public Order Act, which regulates the permits given by police to Quran burners.
The Danish government recently made a similar announcement. There is currently no direct legal basis for the bans, but to date police have decided whether to allow rallies.
In Sweden and Denmark, the anti-Islamic stunts have been carried out by small groups or extremist individuals. They have recently sparked angry protests and threats in several Muslim countries.
Reactions were particularly strong in Iraq, whose government expelled the Swedish ambassador. Earlier, demonstrators in Baghdad broke into the Swedish embassy and set fire to it.
Just on Monday there was another desecration of the Quran in Stockholm.
Source: Qatar Tribune
