|
2006-02-11 Europe
|
|
Dutch PM 'has no use' for Hirsi Ali cartoon views
|
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said on Friday he did not think much of the contribution of outspoken MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali to the debate about the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Speaking in Berlin on Thursday, Hirsi Ali said she wished Balkenende had as much courage as Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Hirsi Ali said publishing the cartoons is a matter of freedom of expression.
Rasmussen has consistently refused to apologise to Muslims on behalf of the Danish newspaper that first printed the 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. He contends his government has no control over the free press.
The Dutch media asked Balkenende during his weekly press conference on Friday about Hirsi Ali's comments. He was initially reluctant to talk about the issue. When pressed, he said "I wonder whether this will help the debate in the Netherlands." The Prime Minister also said "we don't have much use" for Hirsi Ali's contribution.
Somali-born Hirsi Ali is a member of the Liberal Party (VVD) and a leading critic in the Netherlands of aspects of Islam. She wrote the script for the movie 'Submission' and approached director Theo van Gogh to make it. Van Gogh was murdered by Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri on 2 November 2004.
Balkenende said his government was attempting to bring about a de-escalation in the cartoon row. He told parliament on Tuesday there is broad support for the coalition government's stance.
Jozias van Aartsen, the VVD's leader in parliament, said he had not known in advance what Hirsi Ali planned to say in Germany. Noting she had just repeated the party's stand on freedom of speech, he said her comment about Balkenende was a personal view. "Now, yes. That is Ayaan," he said.
Balkenende said he supported freedom of speech and totally rejected the use of violence by some opponents of the cartoons. He said Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot and Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, will visit the Middle-East region next week for talks aimed at reducing the tension over the cartoons. 
|
Posted by lotp 2006-02-11 15:17||
||
Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07]
Top
|
|
Posted by Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2006-02-11 15:34||
2006-02-11 15:34||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by FreeSpeech! 2006-02-11 16:43||
2006-02-11 16:43||
Front Page
Top
|
|
09:27 Warthog
09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
06:58 NN2N1
06:58 Besoeker
05:28 Whiskey Mike
|
