On February 10, the Statement of the Public Council of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethno-Politics and Freedom of Conscience, approved on February 3, was published in connection with the demonstrative and provocative burning of the Holy Book for all Muslims – the Quran in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
In the statement, the Public Council drew attention to the obvious connection between the actions of the said provocateurs and the destructive activities of the Russian special services in the countries of Europe and the Middle East, and demands the authorized bodies of the countries where the said provocations took place to conduct the most thorough analysis of the real causes of the said illegal acts, to establish an exhaustive circle of persons involved in this.
The Council noted with concern the attempts to politicize the said provocations by figures of various countries, and above all, their use in Russian state propaganda with a goal, which is known to be far from protecting the real interests of Muslims, the right to freedom of conscience and interreligious peace.
The Public Council called on all authorized structures of the UN, OSCE, the European Union and the Council of Europe, as well as the governments, religious structures and civil society of European countries to take maximum responsibility for the already carried out and likely future provocations aimed at inciting inter-religious enmity, to take all measures to preserve inter-confessional peace and harmony, in particular between Muslims and Christians, monitoring and countering all forms of hate speech and religious discrimination.
The Council stated that the experience of the terrible suppression of the right to freedom of conscience and the persecution of “wrong” and “inconvenient” religions and beliefs by the aggressor’s punishers in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea, should unite the civilized nations of the world in opposing modern Nazism, barbarism and xenophobia. Our Association informed about the pointed Statement authorised interstate institutions and officials, civilised nations’ governments and respected religious entities all around the world.
