onsdag, februar 01, 2006

Latest developments

Update: France Soir chief-editor sacked by egyptian owner. French liberté and laïcité ? Owner says his action is a "token of respect for faith and conviction".
Latest developments:

By now, things are developing so fast that its hard to keep track:
Danish PM interviewed by al-Arabiya
shortly before 07 pm, in an effort to couterattack misinformation. He explained how the democratic system works in Denmark, not the least our practice of freedom of expression. He underlines that he is not excusing anything, and that it´s too early to estimate the effect of the interview.
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Politik/2006/02/01/192341.htm

Hungary sides with Denmark. Says the Hungarian foreign minister: "To us, freedom of speech is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy". The arab reaction is "unfitting".
In the arab parts of Palestine, the Danish representative office in Ramallah was fired on yesterday, and today demonstrations burned pictures of, among others, prime minister Fogh, US president Bush and Israeli prime minister Olmert.
In Iraq, a terrorist has issued a fatwa against the Danish battalion stationed there.
In Sudan, the foreign minister has urged "all sudanese companies and institutions to stop the omport of Danish products".
In Bahrain, the parliament has passed a resolution calling for boycott of Danish goods, and demanding apologies from the Danish government and the Danish queen.
A like resolution from the Egyptian parliament has brought EU trade commisioner Peter Mandelson to threaten opening an investigation into it, since government-sponsored boycotts are a breach of WTO-rules.
At the same time the Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior representing 17 arab ministers has demanded the Danish government punish those responsible for the 12 drawings.
Suicide bombers are threatening attacks on Denmark.

In Denmark, things are heating up, too:
Tuesday afternoon
saw the web versions of papers Politiken and Ekstrabladet crash again after another hacker attack.
Likewise tuesday afternoon, the editorial offices of Jyllands-Posten in Århus and Copenhagen were evacuated after an english-speaking person telephoned in a bomb threat. About 300 employees were evacuated. Today JP was evacuated a second time.:
http://www.bt.dk/
Prime minister Fogh urges against any counter-boycot of moslems in Denmark, as text messages are circulating calling for one such. Also PM Fogh Rasmussen will go on air to the Arab public on a media counteroffensive.
At the same time, Danish internal intelligence is urging against following any of the calls for demonstrations against the islamic aggression.

http://viking-observer.blogspot.com

We Are All Danes Now
Thanks , Europe !
Today almost all the European newspapers are reporting on the Danish cartoon case. What most papers do not mention is that the whole affair escalated after a group of radical Danish Muslims and imams visited the Arab countries early in January with the deliberate intent to provoke a consumer boycott of Denmark.


http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/740

View Guestbook Sign Guestbook
Powered by iguest.net