Posted on 12/21/2005 10:23:00 AM PST by Pikamax
Danish Ambassadors Warn Rasmussen: Insult to Religion not Freedom By Hasan Cucuk Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 zaman.com
The Danish cartoons found insulting to the Prophet Mohammed caused Denmark's 22 former ambassadors to react strongly.
In a joint declaration they issued the ambassadors said: "What was done is a violation of Islamic tradition. We are extremely perturbed," harsh retorts against Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen followed: "Using freedom against the beliefs of a minority should not be our stance."
Recent events in Denmark have been found outrageous by the world; particularly the cartoons including insult to the Prophet Mohammed published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten on September 30. The cartoons caused a strong reaction in the Muslim world, in Turkish public opinion as well as from many international institutions.
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, rejecting the demand for talks made by 12 Muslim countries' ambassadors in Copenhagen including Turkey's, supported the cartoons publication on grounds of "freedom of press and expression".
The Council of Europe, concerned about the developments, warned the Danish government last week against publications provoking enmity and an interesting protest rose from inside Denmark.
Twenty-two former Danish ambassadors issued a joint declaration in the country's bestselling newspaper the Politiken.
Rasmussen and the newspaper Jyllands Posten were severely criticized in the declaration, underlining that freedom of expression cannot be used in a way to offend Muslims.
The retired ambassadors openly expressed their concerns about the recent developments against Muslims in Denmark, also reacted against the Prime Minister's refusal for the talks requested by the ambassadors of 12 Muslim countries: "Emotional injuries can be best treated by communication. We are concerned by the fact that the Prime Minister and the newspaper Jyllands Posten said there is nothing to treat and rejected the demand for talks."
The declaration was also signed by Hans Henrik Bruun, who served as ambassador to Ankara in 1987. Another ambassador, Ole Bierring, spoke to Zaman and said Rasmussen disgraced Denmark in front of other countries. Herluf Hansen said "Freedom is fine but this has been exaggerated. If Muslims were replaced by Jews in this incident, many people would see this as a problem. Gentlemanliness has no price."
Following the newspaper’s publication of the cartoons, the ambassadors to Copenhagen of 12 Muslim countries including Turkey, had asked the Dutch Prime Minister that the newspaper that offended Muslims to apologize to them. Rasmussen had said "The press is free in Denmark, nobody may interfere. If there has been an insulting publication, then the issue must be dealt by the courts," and also rejected the ambassadors' demand of an appointment. Though Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a visit to Copenhagen on November 15 condemned the issue by saying "My sacred values come before the freedom of expression," Rasmussen did not concede his position.
It would be different in the case of Jews
Ole Bierring, one of the ambassadors who signed the communiqué, told Zaman they wanted the public to know about their own opinions.
"We shared our anxieties about the issue that is currently high on the national agenda. As people who represented Denmark abroad for many years, we are worried that Denmark might fall out of favor in the eyes of other countries."
Herluf Hansen, a retired ambassador, defends freedom of speech, and says: "It is also important to avoid falling into the trap. The issue has reached the point were it is impossible for anyone to argue. Those caricatures reminded me of the 1930s. If it were Jews instead of Muslims, many people would argue that this is a huge problem. Gentlemanliness is not something we can depend on money to assess. I cannot see a reason why Denmark Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen should not say 'yes' to the 12 ambassadors."
Former Danish Foreign Ministers Mogens Lykketoft and Uffe Ellemann Jensen also supported the retired ambassador's statements.
Lykketoft, the foreign affairs spokesman for the Social Democratic Party, said he finds it difficult to interpret the attitude of Rasmussen: "I cannot make sense of the fact that a request for an audience is turned down in a situation where a newspaper's ugly portrayal of the prophet Mohammed has already created some problems. Also, I cannot make out why both the prime minister and the newspaper company insist on defending their faults." Jensen's view of the publication of those caricatures rested upon "the freedom of speech that is not mature yet."
The Council of Europe warned the Copenhagen administration last week about the publishing of the cartoons containing the Prophet Mohammed, and reprimanded the Danish press about defending the act under the freedom of press. The Council underscored xenophobic publications in the Netherlands are escalating and urged the government to take action.
A decision of recommendation taken at the Council's Ministers Committee asks the Copenhagen administration to intervene in the publications perpetrating xenophobia. In the decision, the Committee expressed its view that the Danish integration policy about foreigners feeds enmity against those with ethnic backgrounds; however, the decision was rejected by the parties in the Danish government. The Ministers Committee will re-evaluate if the recommendation decision is applied during a meeting in May 2006.
How did the cartoon scandal start?
A cartoonist specializing in children's books announced that he would not dare to draw sketches of the Prophet Mohammed, and that flared into "auto censor" debates. Following this, the Jyllands Posten newspaper consulted with 40 cartoonists and asked if they would draw the Prophet Mohammed sketches. Claus Siedel, Kurt Westergaard, Lars Refn, Jens Julius, Annette Carlsen, Bob Katzenelson, Füuchsel, Peder Bundgaard, Abild Sirensen, Poul Erik Poulsen, Arne Sörensen, Rasmus Sand Höyer answered affirmatively; however, "insult and ridiculing" expressions dominant in the cartoons by the12 artists. The paper published the cartoons in the issue under the title "Faces of Mohammed" on its September 30 edition's culture page. There upon, the ambassadors of Muslim countries such as Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Palestine, Indonesia and Pakistan including Turkey asked the Dutch Prime Minister to take action in the subject. Rasmussen, however, refused the demand and suggested the ambassadors to resort the judiciary. An investigation by the United Nations followed.
Maybe somene can dig up a pic of the "Piss Christ"
So Denmark does NOT have freedom of speech. Any offensive comment can get you before a judge.
Hey, at least they aren't killing each other and rioting this time. Thats an improvement.
in free societies slander and libel are against the law. that, i'm sure is what the PM was refering to.
"found outrageous by the world;"
Really? first I heard about it, and for the record I'm not outraged.
I was worried that this horrid problem of insulting Muslims would not be rectified but now I see that the United Nations is involved and I feel confident that there will be JUSTICE.
Justice for Muslims that is.
I have heard that based on current birth rates and immigration that Denmark will be an Islamic Republic by 2040 with France soon to follow.
I would guess that many see the trend and are already gravitating to the new power elite.
Is it against the law to slander someone who's been dead for 800 years? If that's the PM is concerned about, Denmark is full of nuts.
The problem is that there can be no image of Mohammed drawn. So I think under Sharia Law this is a death offense.
Denmarkistan and Frankistan. Did it to themselves....
Hey, can cammels live that far north?
Would you like one hump or two with your cammel Sir?
Islam forbids drawing an image of any living thing. The civilized world has been ignoring that for centuries.
Well; Western Civilization, Democratic Governments, Danish Culture, Independent Thinking to name some of the evils that are open to criticism. Any medival 12th century backward societies are of course off limits.
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