Education key to averting future ‘cartoon Controversies’ by United Nations News 12:47pm 10th Feb, 2006   9 February 2006    Annan speaks out against reprinting controversial cartoons, again condemns violence.    United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today spoke out against those publishers who “pour oil on the fire” by reprinting controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad while repeating his condemnation of the violent protests they have sparked.    “Honestly, I do not understand why any newspaper will publish the cartoons today,” Mr. Annan told reporters at UN Headquarters in his most extensive spontaneous comments on the controversy. “It is insensitive, it is offensive, it is provocative, and they should see what has happened around the world.”    He was quick to add that he was not against freedom of speech or freedom of the press. “I am for that, but as I have indicated in the past, freedom of speech is not a license. It does entail exercising responsibility and judgment, and quite honestly I cannot understand why any editor will publish cartoons at this time which inflames, and pours oil on the fire.”    Asked about the role of governments, he replied, “We all need to take steps to calm the situation and whatever the anger of those concerned, violence is not the answer.”    He also stressed that innocent civilians should not be targeted. “They should not attack people who are not responsible for the publication of the cartoons. Whether it is a general condemnation of Denmark, or Europeans, it is wrong. They should really avoid doing that, and violence must be condemned as unacceptable.”    On Tuesday, the Secretary-General, along with the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union’s (EU) senior representative for foreign and security policy, issued a joint statement calling for calm and dialogue among communities of different faiths.    9 February 2006    Education key to averting future ‘cartoon controversies’.    Education is key to combating the mutual ignorance and fear that are fuelling controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and to preventing future clashes of a similar nature, a United Nations official dealing with the cultural gap between Islam and the West has said.    “We have to get to a point that different societies have some degrees of understanding of the concerns and the grievances and even the sensitivities of the other societies in the world,” Shamil Idriss, Deputy Director of the Office of the Alliance of Civilizations, said in an interview with the UN News Service.    “It is an educational issue,” he said, questioning which steps might have prevented the deadly confrontations over the caricatures, originally published in a Danish newspaper, that have occurred in numerous countries. “What could have been done in the three months between the printing and the violence breaking out? What could have been done differently at the political level, at the religious level, at the civil society level, to prevent the violence? What could have been done before the articles have been printed?    The furore was caused by mutual ignorance and mutual fear, he said. As a result, the response must redress these specific problems. “Then the solutions are mutual respect and education, population exchanges and cross-cultural cooperation,” he said.    Last July, Secretary-General Kofi Annan established a High-Level Panel on the Alliance of Civilizations. The group will present its report to the Secretary-General later this year, Mr. Idriss said. This will include a plan of action for bridging the gap between cultures, especially Islam and the West, which threatens peace in the world.    “Right now, we are working on four major issues: the issue of youth engagement, the issue of the impact of the media and how media could have a more constructive impact, the issue of immigrants integration and the issue of educational reform,” he said.    Jointly led by Federico Mayor, the former head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Mehmet Aydin, a minister and professor of theology from Turkey, the High-Level Group held its first meeting in Majorca, Spain last year. It will meet again in approximately two weeks.    Recent violence over the caricatures “will be in the top of our list,” Mr. Idriss said.    Members of the Panel range from such renowned theologians as Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Karen Armstrong of the United Kingdom, Arthur Schneir of the United States and Mr. Aydin, to administrators of cultural institutions, such as Ismali Serageldin of Egypt’s Biblioteca Alexandria.    The call for the alliance was initiated by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and co-sponsored by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.    9 February 2006    UN human rights experts call for dialogue in wake of cartoon controversy.    Three independent United Nations human rights experts have strongly deplored the recent controversial depictions of the Prophet Muhammad as well as the violent reactions that ensued while urging all to come together in a spirit of dialogue.    This view was expressed in statement released in Geneva late Wednesday that was endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diene; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, and the Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo. They are all unpaid experts serving in their personal capacity.    “The special rapporteurs strongly deplore the depictions of the Prophet Muhammad and are distressed by the grave offence they have caused to the members of the Muslim community,” the statement said.    Voicing equal concern about the reactions that followed the publications, they strongly condemned “death threats against journalists and intimidation of the media as well as the loss of lives, threats and other forms of violence that have occurred over the past few days, often directed at people with no responsibility for, or control over, the publications.”    The Special Rapporteurs urged all parties to refrain from any form of violence and to avoid fuelling hatred. They also encouraged States to promote the interrelated and indivisible nature of human rights and freedoms and to advocate the use of legal remedies as well as the pursuance of a peaceful dialogue on matters which go to the heart of all multicultural societies.    The experts also offered a detailed defense of press freedom. “Peaceful expression of opinions and ideas, either orally, through the press or other media, should always be tolerated. The press must enjoy large editorial freedom to promote a free flow of news and information, within and across national borders, thus providing an arena for debate and dialogue.”    At the same time, they emphasized that “the use of stereotypes and labeling that insult deep-rooted religious feelings do not contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to constructive and peaceful dialogue among different communities.”
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