[Mb-civic] CBC News - DANISH PM WARNS OF 'GLOBAL CRISIS' OVER DRAWINGS

Tue Feb 7 16:13:50 PST 2006

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DANISH PM WARNS OF 'GLOBAL CRISIS' OVER DRAWINGS
WebPosted Tue Feb  7 05:55:52 2006

---The Danish prime minister has called the growing unrest over
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a "growing global crisis," urging
calm as Muslim protests continued worldwide.

The most deadly incident on Tuesday occurred in Afghanistan, where
several hundred protesters armed with assault rifles and grenades stormed
the NATO base in a melée that killed at least three people.

The violent demonstration was just one of many that broke out in many
countries around the world, including in neighbouring Pakistan, Iran
and Niger.

In Denmark, where the editorial cartoons were first published in the
newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen accused
"radicals, extremists and fanatics" of hijacking the debate over press
freedom and respect for religion in order to "push forward their own
agenda&#8230;

"We're facing a growing global crisis that has the potential to escalate
beyond the control of governments and other authorities," Rasmussen said.

"I want to appeal and reach out to all people and countries in the Muslim
world. Let us work together in the spirit of mutual respect and
tolerance."

He also thanked those in the international community who have shown
support for Denmark, which has been the target of Muslim outrage since
the cartoons were first published there in September 2005.

The row showed no signs of abating on Tuesday, after days of angry
protests that saw Muslim rioters torch the Danish, Norwegian and other
embassies in Syria and Lebanon.

Protesters storm NATO base in Afghanistan

NATO sent troop reinforcements late Tuesday to a town in northwestern
Afghanistan after protesters angry over caricatures of the Prophet
Muhammad attacked their base, resulting in the three deaths.

Several hundred protesters armed with assault rifles and grenades stormed
the compound in Maymana, which is headquarters to a provincial
reconstruction team of about 100 Norwegian and Finnish troops. They
burned cars and guard outposts, and threw stones and grenades.

Sverre Diesen, top commander of the Norwegian military, told reporters in
Oslo that troops threw tear-gas grenades and fired back with rubber
bullets and warning shots. He said seven NATO soldiers were injured.

The provincial deputy governor, Sayed Ahmad Sayed, said Afghan police
shot into the crowd, killing four protesters. About two dozen others were
wounded, Maymana police said.

For the third straight day, Afghanistan also saw rallies involving
thousands of demonstrators in other cities.

One of the largest took place outside the Danish diplomatic mission
office in Kabul, where about 5,000 stone-throwing protesters were beaten
back by baton-wielding police.

The cartoons include a drawing of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a
bomb. They have recently been published by papers in Europe, North
America and elsewhere, in a show of support for freedom of the press and
freedom of speech.

The publications have offended many Muslims who consider them blasphemy,
because Islamic tradition forbids even favourable depictions of Muhammad
out of fear they could lead to idolatry.

Other developments on Tuesday related to the cartoons include:

Iran's best-selling newspaper announced a competition for cartoons about
the Holocaust. The country's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the
caricatures were an Israeli conspiracy that sprang from the Hamas
militant group's victory in January's Palestinian election &#8211; even
though they were printed months before the election by a Christian
newspaper in Denmark. The European Union warned Iran, which has joined an
international boycott of Danish goods, that the boycott or other trade
sanctions against European countries could further deteriorate relations
that were already strained over its nuclear program. As many as 10,000
people protested in Pakistan, chanting, "Hang the man who insulted the
Prophet," and burning effigies of the Danish prime minister. Denmark
warned its citizens to leave Indonesia, where boisterous demonstrations
took place in at least four cities. U.S. President George W. Bush called
his Danish counterpart to express his support over the issue.