Commission backs Denmark against boycott menace 

If it ever was, the Danish cartoon affair has long since stopped being a laughing matter. The attempt to see if it was possible 'do a Rushdie' by depicting the prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, among other things, has been crowned with more success than the right of centre newspaper Jyllandsposten could ever have  hoped for.

The affair involves not only European cores values such as the freedom of expression and the independence of the press, but also the issue of respect for other religions in multicultural Europe. 

With the beatings of Danes in the Middle East, and a boycott of Danish exports in a growing number of countries in the Middle East the matter has also become a trade issue, and potentially a question about terrorism.    

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson  has reminded Abdullah Zainal Alireza, the Saudi Arabian minister of state, that the country's recent membership of the WTO means that "a boycott of Danish goods was a boycott of the European Union". Should the Saudi government officially encourage the boycott that is already going on, Mandelson says he would have to pursue this “very serious’’ issue before the WTO.

Ursula Plassnik, the Austrian foreign minister and holder of the EU presidency, also backed the beleaguered Danes with a declaration of solidarity, and defended "the freedom of speech". 

Javier Solana, the EU high representative on foreign policy, stressed that "the EU countries have complete respect for religions and would never hurt anyone. We have condemned all actions that would demonise any religion."  

Christine Lagarde, the French trade minister, spoke of “complete solidarity” over the issue among the 25 EU nations.

Kuwait  strongly condemns the drawings: "This is one of the forms of despicable racism which has caused disasters for the entire international community."" a senior foreign ministry official was quoted as saying in a statement published by Kuwaiti dailies.

Sajjad Karim, a British Muslim Liberal Democrat MEP called for greater sensitivity on the part of those in responsible editorial positions to apply sound judgement in such cases. "The editor of Jyllands-Posten has shown great insensitivity of judgement in underestimating the offence that the cartoons could cause to Muslims. But those who now threaten Danish nationals abroad or protest outside EU embassies are in danger of over-reacting. Muslims should have no issue with the Danish people as a whole - one of the most open and tolerant societies in the world. I would urge all sides now to climb down and treat this as a hard lesson in building inter-cultural ties."

Sulaiman al-Hattlan, a Dubai-based Saudi writer, commented: "This will be used by regimes who resent Western pressures to reform to say that the West is waging a war against Muslims and doesn't have their best interests at heart» al-Hattlan told The Associated Press. "Unfortunately, the emotional reactions and boycotts will only serve to consolidate the West's stereotypes of Arabs. There should be an intellectual reaction and discussions by both sides to see what's the point of provoking millions of Muslims now," he said.

The Afghan president Hamid Karzaï  declared himself "very satisfied as a muslim" by after consulting with the Danish PM in Copenhagen. 

The Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who's photo was being burned by protesters in Gaza City on 31 January, has long taken an uncompromising stance favouring the full independence of the press. However, on 30 January, he softened his approach in the face of physical threats against Danish citizens and loss of exports: "I personally have such a respect for people's religious belief that I personally never would have depicted Muhammad, Jesus or any other religious character in a way that could offend other people," Rasmusssen

Jyllands-Posten  has also felt the time for diplomacy has come: The drawings “were not in violation of Danish law but have undoubtedly offended many Muslims, which we would like to apologize for. Maybe because of culturally based misunderstandings, the initiative to publish the 12 drawings has been interpreted as a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world. I must categorically dismiss such an interpretation.” the paper's editor-in-chief Carsten Juste said in a statement, published on 30 January.

The Danish dairy exporter Arla's executive director Peder Tuborgh urged the Danish government to take action. «I urgently beg the government to enter a positive dialogue with the many millions of Muslims who feel they have been offended by Denmark. Freedom of expression is an internal Danish issue but this has a totally different dimension. This is about Denmark having offended millions of Muslims," Peder Tuborgh said in a statement.