The Swedish ambassador to Iraq, Jessica Svärdström, has been ordered to leave the country. The order of expulsion was announced by the Iraqi government, speaking through Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
In a statement released by the media office of the prime minister, Shia al-Sudani asked the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry to send Amb. Jessica Svärdström away from its territory.
He said that it was in response to Sweden’s government’s failure to end the viral act of burning the Holy Quran in Sweden and bring perpetrators before the law. He also ordered the suspension of Ericsson, an established European telecommunications firm with its roots in Sweden.
A report from TT, a renowned Swedish news outlet, said that the Swedish police approved a request for a public gathering in front of the Embassy of Iraq located in Stockholm.
The report further stated that the request approved by the police was clear as to its intent, which was to set the Iraqi flag and the Holy Quran on fire.
In response to the events in Sweden, demonstrators loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr besieged the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in protest at the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm and set it on fire.
To prevent a breakdown of law and order, the Iraqi riot police dispersed the rioting crowd with water cannons. There were also riot-ready security forces that joined forces with the police to restore calm.
A statement from the Swedish Foreign Affairs Office in Stockholm condemned the Iraqi government, saying it was meant to protect the embassy and ensure it was safe for the staff.
A part of the statement said, “The Iraqi authorities are responsible for the protection of diplomatic missions and their staff.” It further stated that their unserious actions towards protecting the embassy “constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention.”
The Swedish Foreign Minister labeled the breach “totally unacceptable.”
According to Tobias Bilstrom, the Swedish Foreign Minister, “It is clear that the Iraqi authorities have seriously failed in their responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and personnel.” He called it “unacceptable”.
The Iraqi government has ordered a probe into the protest and has also condemned the actions of the protesters.
Swedish-Iraqi relations date back to centuries of unorganized relations but became prominent in the 18th Century. By the early 18th century, the Swedish King had begun to establish deliberate relations with its neighbors and the wider world. By 1903, it had established diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire and the Swedish Consulate in Baghdad.
