Cartoons

This week has been difficult at the Danish embassy. It is not every day that you have 300 people in the street with protest signs and ten TV-cameras pointed at your embassy. On the other hand the demonstration on Monday was a very peaceful and calm event – just as the organizers from IAF had promised. And a peaceful and lawful demonstration is a perfectly legitimate way of using the freedom of expression.

At the conclusion of the demonstration I invited the Secretary General of the IAF and the IAF spokesperson to my office, where they handed me a letter to the Danish Prime Minister. The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere and the IAF used the occasion to explain the anger of Muslims with the reprinting of the cartoon. I had the opportunity to try to correct some of the misunderstandings that apparently are widespread.

First of all, I think it is very important to state clearly that there is no specific or general intention to harm or disturb Muslim feelings or the feelings of other religious communities for that matter. This is and has always been the position of the Danish government.

Secondly, the reason for the republication of the cartoon – as stated by most of the editors-in-chief – was to document a murder plot that had been planned by three persons. Let us not forget that – the events all started out with the successful intervention from Danish police and intelligence in foiling a planned terrorist assassination of the illustrator. So, it was not about causing intended harm to the Muslim population, but about how to document a news story.

Thirdly, it is crucial to understand that the government – and that goes not only for Denmark but for many other countries – has neither means nor political mandate to interfere in the decisions of the free press. That is why it is free. But the press is also responsible and accountable within the law – and very often the editors have to appear before the court to defend their writings – mostly about individual people. Sometimes they win – sometimes they lose their case.

Fourthly, organizations representing parts of Danish Muslim population reacted with a statement saying that 1) they distance themselves from the alleged murder plot, 2) the press is free to choose what to print and that the opponents of the cartoons are free to disagree with the printing, and 3) that in light of the current situation they did not understand the purpose of reprinting the cartoon. The statement concluded by stressing their readiness for dialogue and in fighting radicalisation.

Getting back to the meeting with IAF the main conclusion was that dialogue and mutual respect is the only way to wipe out misunderstandings like this one. This has also been the generel conclusion when talking to other Jordanian national figures during the last week.

And dialogue is actually one of the main reasons behind establishing an Embassy in Jordan. The Embassy will be a partner in dialogue – especially when focusing on enhancing mutual understanding and avoiding new misunderstandings and misconceptions to spread. Many of our projects in Jordan and the region are exactly about this. We want to continue on that track. Our relations with the Arab world have been long lasting and substantial. Just to mention a few examples of what we are doing, the Danish support for the Palestinians is solid and substantial. In Paris last year, Denmark pledged more than 110 mio. USD for the PA. For the refugees from and in Iraq we allocate more than 20 mio. USD a year. Another important aspect is our continued political support in solving many of the most important regional questions.

It seems that it is once again necessary to refocus on issues that unite us instead of highlighting divisive events.