You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Europe
Could the Wilders Film Have Been Banned?
2008-03-28
Could the screening of Wilders' video have been prevented by law?
No, at least not in principle. The Dutch constitution does not allow censorship, which is defined in Article 7 as the freedom to publish or show anything without prior consent. This freedom applies not just to the printing press. It also covers art, movies, photos, cartoons – indeed any medium that can be used to express oneself. It’s a basic civil right and a founding principle of Dutch democracy. Basic civil rights also include the freedom of religion, protection from discrimination and the right to equal treatment. In democratic societies these basic rights are sacrosanct and protect individual citizens from the potential abuse of power by governments.

The only way the government could over-ride this basic right would be to declare a State of Emergency. Then it could have used special powers, including media censorship. But this was never a real option. Wilders' video may be a public relations disaster for the Netherlands but it is not a national disaster like war or serious flood caused by a break in the dykes.
Posted by:ryuge

#6  Have already downloaded the film. Be warned, you only get one chance at a free download.
Note that the headline "Could the Wilders Film Have Been Banned" presupposes that it should have been banned, that it must be banned, that all right-thinking hewers to the party line people should condemn the film and work for its banning.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2008-03-28 19:32  

#5  Importantly, not from Wilders party, but another group, a *cartoon* is coming out to be the follow-up to Fitna.

The only part of it mentioned so far, depicts Mohammed, with an erection, taking a small girl into a mosque with a swastika on it, to rape her.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-03-28 16:46  

#4  "Wilders' video may be a public relations disaster for the Netherlands"

Only in the sense that they didn't have the cojones to stand up and tell the islamophreaks to f*ck off.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-03-28 12:46  

#3  Wilders played this one just right. The three major elements to Fitna are quotes from the Koran, "Kill de white mans!" speeches from Mullahs, and terror attacks. No opinion, no editorial. It has been pre-translated into a bunch of languages, so be sure to get the English language one.

Now, the important thing is what Muslims will do in response, *and* how Wilders exploits the victory.

Were I in Wilders' shoes, I would have two dozen similar movies ready to go. The *purpose* of doing so would be to help unite the right wing Euro political parties, and to politically gain in the Netherlands.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-03-28 11:59  

#2  .wmv format can be downloaded from here
Posted by: lotp   2008-03-28 08:52  

#1  The genie is out of the bottle. If anyone has a link where a .wmv or .avi or .mov can be downloaded, post that link here in the comments...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2008-03-28 08:37  

00:00