Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Activates Crisis Teams Amid Global Backlash Over Quran Burnings

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs crisis management team and the international operational team have been activated.

This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.

The activation follows the demonstrations of the past week, where thousands of citizens in Muslim countries have protested against Denmark, and 15 countries have issued official condemnations of Denmark.

Additionally, five Danish ambassadors and a charge d’affaires have been summoned for talks, during which criticism of Denmark’s handling of the Quran burnings was expressed.

On Monday, 57 foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency debate to discuss new measures against Denmark and Sweden in response to the Quran burnings.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the international reactions and is in dialogue with several key countries. For instance, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has had conversations with foreign ministers from countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Turkey during the week.

To ensure sufficient resources for handling the international reactions to the Quran burnings, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ crisis management team and the international operational team have been activated.

In practice, this means that more employees have been called to work and are participating in daily meetings. The meetings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ crisis management team involve both employees from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen and its embassies. During these meetings, the current responses of significant countries to the Quran burnings in Denmark are assessed. Additionally, there is a forward look at any new demonstrations that have been reported in Denmark and the potential international reactions they might cause.

The discussions and information exchanged during these meetings form the basis for evaluating how Denmark can best maintain its diplomatic relations and safeguard Danish international interests in the current situation.