4. februar 2006

Merkel compares Iran's regime to the rise of nazism German chancellor Angela Merkel encourages the world to stay firm against Iran, drawing lessons from her country's nazi past. "We want, we must prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program further," Merkel told top policymakers from around the world at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. "The concerns and fears over Iran's nuclear program are legitimate" and the Islamic republic did not deserve to be shown "any tolerance" she added. "The Iranian regime is today the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," he said. "The world does not want, and must work together to prevent, a nuclear Iran." In a controversial reference to the rise of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s, Merkel said that Iran stood on the cusp of becoming a great threat if measures were not taken before it became too late. "Now we see that there were times when we could have acted differently. For that reason Germany is obliged ... to make clear (to Iran) what is permissible and what isn't." [...] She condemned Ahmadinejad and said that "a president that questions Israel's right to exist, a president that denies the Holocaust, cannot expect to receive any tolerance from Germany." "Iran has blatantly crossed the red line," Merkel said. There are few people and situations that really merit comparison to Hitler and the nazis, and in most cases, such heated rhetoric is quite inappropriate. Yet, in the case of Ahmenidejad and the Iranian Mullahs, the comparison almost jumps out at you. 5:26:40 PM    comment []  trackback []

Danish embassy in Syria torched. Update: Norwegian embassy on fire The Danish embassy in Damascus, Syria, has been set on fire. Syrians have set fire to the Danish embassy in Damascus to protest against the publication of newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, witnesses say. Thousands (some say 'hundreds') of angry demonstrators, who have arranged sit-ins for days, are reported to have stormed the embassy building. The Swedish and Chilean embassies are in the same building. The AP reports: Hundreds of Syrian demonstrators stormed the Danish Embassy in Damascus Saturday and set fire to the building, witnesses said. [...] Saturday's protest started out peacefully but as anger escalated, protesters broke through police barriers and torched the building, the witnesses said. There is no sign of this madness ending. PS: I thought I'd share with you a translation of some words the Norwegian author Erik Bakken Olafsen just wrote in an op-ed in the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. After summarising a number of anti-Christian artworks and literary expressions, some of which were literally scatological in nature, and the declining severity of Christian reactions to these deliberate insults, he writes: This is the way religion is treated literally in this society; there is tradition for that. Now as Islam is becoming relatively widespread in Europe, it is natural that Islam is also subject to what Christianity has been forced to put up with for a long time. Anything else would be pure discrimination. And I have understood that most Muslims do not want to be discriminated against. Exactly. Update: I just heard on the radio that the Norwegian embassy in Damascus is now being attacked by a stone-throwing mob. Update 2: The Norwegian embassy, despite being protected against the extremists by a huge police presence, has now been stormed and put on fire, according to still unconfirmed reports. No Scandinavians were injured in the attacks, as the buildings had been evacuated. Update 3: The burning of the Norwegian embassy has now been confirmed. Update 4: The BBC: Angry protesters attacked the Norwegian mission after storming the Danish site amid chants of "God is great".  It sounds like they really consider him a puny little deity that needs help from a mob of thugs. It is notable that the Syrian authorities didn't manage to stop the angry crowds. Arab authorities have encouraged, in fact, the rage over the cartoons. Either Syria's authorities accepted these blatant violations of all international law, or the mob was too powerful for them to handle. In the latter case, the mobs may find other targets for its rage, and the detested Arab regimes may well become a victim of the fires they stoked. 5:00:43 PM    comment []  trackback []

The IAEA refers Iran to the Security Council IAEA sends Iran to the UN Security Council. The UN nuclear watchdog has voted to report Iran to the security council over its nuclear activities. Twenty-seven countries out of 35 on the agency's board voted for the resolution, with just three against and five abstentions. The compromise reached with Russia and China specifies no Security Council action will be taken before March. Iran has already threatened to break off negotiations and resume the enrichment programme in full if it is referred to the SC. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said Tehran would stop allowing UN inspections and resume peaceful nuclear activities "without restriction" if Iran was sent to the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.  It is now reported that Iran has responded by saying it will resume enrichment immediately. PS: Text of IAEA resolution. 12:50:34 PM    comment []  trackback []

The US sides with Muslims in cartoon wars The United States finally speaks out in the cartoon controversy. Proudly defending freedom of speech, the State Department stands up: "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable." [...] "Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Uh, I read that wrong, I think. Europe finally finds its spine, and the US sides with the enemy? This is bizarre. PS: Yes, I know, I should write about something else, too, but this insane story sort of imposes itself on you. Update: Well, it appears Reuters was quite selective in quoting McCormack, who went to some length defending freedom of speech, also. But I had frankly hoped that when the US finally spoke, it was more supportive of our freedoms. Calling cartoons depiciting Mohammad in different ways "anti-Muslim" is a crude and vulgar summary of the whole debate. 12:32:10 PM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.03.2006; 16:49:15.