BERLIN / COPENHAGEN: All European newspapers should take a stand for press freedom and publish cartoons of Prophet Mohammed printed in Danish dailies, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday.
Schaeuble told Die Zeit weekly that he respects the decision by 17 Danish dailies this month to reprint a drawing depicting the Prophet Mohamed wearing a turban looking like a bomb with a lit fuse.
In fact, all European newspapers should print these cartoons, with the caveat: We too find them pathetic, but the exercise of press freedom is no reason to resort to violence, Schaeuble said.
In related news, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen defended Tuesday Danish newspapers that reprinted a controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohamed, insisting their aim was not to offend Muslims.
It s important to explain that the media did not publish these drawings to hurt people s religious feelings, but because in a democratic regime with a free press, it s normal to be able to illustrate your story, Rasmussen told reporters.
The Danish newspapers decided to republish the caricature, originally printed in 2005, a day after police in Denmark foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist.
Since the re-publication, Sudan has called for a boycott of Danish goods, Jordanian media have protested, thousands of Bahreinis have demonstrated, and other protests have been held in Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and Gaza.
The Danish leader said it was necessary for the newspapers to print the drawing that was the cause of the terrorists attempt to take the life of the cartoonist.
Rasmussen said the current situation was uncertain following the protests, noting there were reports that religious extremist circles were trying to exploit it and that it was difficult to predict how the protests would evolve. He added that Denmark had learned from experience from the 2006 crisis.
The government had set up a very developed system to keep abreast of what is going on to enable it to be very proactive with governments in Muslim countries.
The caricature was one of several drawings that sparked violent protests that culminated in early 2006 in the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and the death of dozens of people in Nigeria. -AFP
