02-17-2006, 02:59 AM
The following item from the Finnish media is worth noting:-Quote
Vanhanen apology over Muhammad pictures was Prime Minister's own decision
Foreign Minister and President also take up controversy
Matti Vanhanen
Tarja Halonen
Erkki Tuomioja
The decision by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) to issue an apology for the appearance on a Finnish website of the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad was Vanhanen's own. In his statement, issued on Tuesday while the Prime Minister was attending the Winter Olympics in Torino, Vanhanen used stronger language than many Foreign Ministry civil servants would have considered sensible.
According to sources close to the government, there had been talk for some time of a statement expressing regret over the dispute, and that the statement might be made public. Civil servants of the Foreign Ministry who were taking part in the discussions felt that an actual apology would not be necessary.
Tuesday's apology was sparked by reports that reached Vanhanen in Torino that an item of news had appeared in the media in Kuwait under the headline "Finland published Muhammad cartoons". Vanhanen had just recently returned from Kuwait, where he was hoping to downplay the furore surrounding the cartoon.
The Kuwaiti news item mentioned that the website was that of an extremist group. The reference was to an organisation called Suomen Sisu, which posted the pictures on its pages last Friday.
According to an anonymous government source, Vanhanen specifically wanted to apologise on behalf of the Finnish government.
The same source reported that Vanhanen informed the other members of the government in a telephone conference call. The main topic during the government talks was the handling of the crisis management bill, another topical item.
Among those taking part in the negotiations were Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma (SDP), Environment Minister Jan Erik Enestam (Swedish People's Party), and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP).
The government source emphasised that Foreign Minister Tuomioja did not openly oppose Vanhanen's decision.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said that he had not discussed the statement with Vanhanen when the two talked on Tuesday, before its publication.
"I have not seen anything more about the statement than what appeared in the news, and I do not know in what context it was given", Tuomioja said from Vienna, where he was taking part in discussions between the EU and Russia. Tuomioja commented that the statement had not been prepared in any shape or form with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tuomioja sees "no problem" in the idea of the government's apologising for what small and marginal fringe-groups put on their websites.
"We must keep in mind what sort of a situation we are living in. When it reaches the international news media, this can bring completely new dimensions to the matter. This can have concrete consequences", Tuomioja said.
"When people die in riots, and buildings are burned down, there is reason to take things seriously", the Foreign Minister observed.
In his statement, Vanhanen deplored the fact that caricatures that were found deeply offensive by Muslims have been published on the website of a small Finnish extremist organisation. He added that he is disappointed that there are individuals in Finland who wish to insult the deepest values of Islam. "I apologise on behalf of myself and the Finnish government that the religious feelings of the Muslims have been hurt in Finland as well", Vanhanen said. He added that the National Bureau of Investigation has launched a preliminary investigation into whether or not the law banning the violation of the "sancity of religion" has been breached.
In a separate development, Foreign Minister Tuomioja despatched an open letter to newspapers in several Muslim countries, in which he appealed for moderation over the caricatures dispute.
In the letter, dated 13.2.2006, Tuomioja was sharply critical both of the initial actions and the violent counter-reactions that have been witnessed, and emphasised the importance of the responsible use of freedom of expression:
"From the Finnish perspective, a country where no pictures so far - to my great satisfaction - have been published in newspapers, I would like to emphasise that intentionally hurting the religious feelings of anyone is unwise and deplorable... ...Liberty of expression is a fundamental value and a democratic right in our society to which governments in our societies are committed. Its responsible use entails promoting the respect of religions and the spiritual feelings of people belonging to all religions... ...While the publication of the cartoons was unwise, it is necessary to underline that the reaction, when it has taken violent forms, including the burning of diplomatic missions and aggressions against international peacekeepers, is unacceptable. Violence is contrary to the basic values we all share, irrespective of our cultural backgrounds, and does not solve anything in this situation, but leads us into a spiral of further confrontation with untold consequences."
President Tarja Halonen has also deplored the publication of the pictures.
The President expressed her views on Wednesday during a meeting with representatives of religious communities operating in Finland.
According to a statement issued by the President's office, Halonen "regretted the actions of a Finnish website".
Thursday's editorial in Helsingin Sanomat comes down strongly against Vanhanen's remarks, arguing that in the first instance the pictures have not been displayed in Finnish newspapers or magazines.
Secondly, if the PM were to consider the kinds of content that are to be found from various web addresses there would be no end to the apologising and the regrets, and thirdly, the images of the Prophet Muhammad come under the terms of freedom of expression, and therefore the involvement of the NBI in the matter is pointless.
The editorial points towards the differing lines existing within the Cabinet, referring to Foreign Minister Tuomioja's more balanced approach in his letter to Muslim newspapers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helsingin Sanomat
Unquote
This is quite in contrast to the reactions of the political leaderships in many of the other EU member states.However, it is this type of stand that is required to be taken to defuse the situation. There is no point in making further provocative statements as that would further increase the anger and tension.Let us hope such enlightened action will beundertaken by more and more countries.
Vanhanen apology over Muhammad pictures was Prime Minister's own decision
Foreign Minister and President also take up controversy
Matti Vanhanen
Tarja Halonen
Erkki Tuomioja
The decision by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) to issue an apology for the appearance on a Finnish website of the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad was Vanhanen's own. In his statement, issued on Tuesday while the Prime Minister was attending the Winter Olympics in Torino, Vanhanen used stronger language than many Foreign Ministry civil servants would have considered sensible.
According to sources close to the government, there had been talk for some time of a statement expressing regret over the dispute, and that the statement might be made public. Civil servants of the Foreign Ministry who were taking part in the discussions felt that an actual apology would not be necessary.
Tuesday's apology was sparked by reports that reached Vanhanen in Torino that an item of news had appeared in the media in Kuwait under the headline "Finland published Muhammad cartoons". Vanhanen had just recently returned from Kuwait, where he was hoping to downplay the furore surrounding the cartoon.
The Kuwaiti news item mentioned that the website was that of an extremist group. The reference was to an organisation called Suomen Sisu, which posted the pictures on its pages last Friday.
According to an anonymous government source, Vanhanen specifically wanted to apologise on behalf of the Finnish government.
The same source reported that Vanhanen informed the other members of the government in a telephone conference call. The main topic during the government talks was the handling of the crisis management bill, another topical item.
Among those taking part in the negotiations were Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma (SDP), Environment Minister Jan Erik Enestam (Swedish People's Party), and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP).
The government source emphasised that Foreign Minister Tuomioja did not openly oppose Vanhanen's decision.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said that he had not discussed the statement with Vanhanen when the two talked on Tuesday, before its publication.
"I have not seen anything more about the statement than what appeared in the news, and I do not know in what context it was given", Tuomioja said from Vienna, where he was taking part in discussions between the EU and Russia. Tuomioja commented that the statement had not been prepared in any shape or form with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tuomioja sees "no problem" in the idea of the government's apologising for what small and marginal fringe-groups put on their websites.
"We must keep in mind what sort of a situation we are living in. When it reaches the international news media, this can bring completely new dimensions to the matter. This can have concrete consequences", Tuomioja said.
"When people die in riots, and buildings are burned down, there is reason to take things seriously", the Foreign Minister observed.
In his statement, Vanhanen deplored the fact that caricatures that were found deeply offensive by Muslims have been published on the website of a small Finnish extremist organisation. He added that he is disappointed that there are individuals in Finland who wish to insult the deepest values of Islam. "I apologise on behalf of myself and the Finnish government that the religious feelings of the Muslims have been hurt in Finland as well", Vanhanen said. He added that the National Bureau of Investigation has launched a preliminary investigation into whether or not the law banning the violation of the "sancity of religion" has been breached.
In a separate development, Foreign Minister Tuomioja despatched an open letter to newspapers in several Muslim countries, in which he appealed for moderation over the caricatures dispute.
In the letter, dated 13.2.2006, Tuomioja was sharply critical both of the initial actions and the violent counter-reactions that have been witnessed, and emphasised the importance of the responsible use of freedom of expression:
"From the Finnish perspective, a country where no pictures so far - to my great satisfaction - have been published in newspapers, I would like to emphasise that intentionally hurting the religious feelings of anyone is unwise and deplorable... ...Liberty of expression is a fundamental value and a democratic right in our society to which governments in our societies are committed. Its responsible use entails promoting the respect of religions and the spiritual feelings of people belonging to all religions... ...While the publication of the cartoons was unwise, it is necessary to underline that the reaction, when it has taken violent forms, including the burning of diplomatic missions and aggressions against international peacekeepers, is unacceptable. Violence is contrary to the basic values we all share, irrespective of our cultural backgrounds, and does not solve anything in this situation, but leads us into a spiral of further confrontation with untold consequences."
President Tarja Halonen has also deplored the publication of the pictures.
The President expressed her views on Wednesday during a meeting with representatives of religious communities operating in Finland.
According to a statement issued by the President's office, Halonen "regretted the actions of a Finnish website".
Thursday's editorial in Helsingin Sanomat comes down strongly against Vanhanen's remarks, arguing that in the first instance the pictures have not been displayed in Finnish newspapers or magazines.
Secondly, if the PM were to consider the kinds of content that are to be found from various web addresses there would be no end to the apologising and the regrets, and thirdly, the images of the Prophet Muhammad come under the terms of freedom of expression, and therefore the involvement of the NBI in the matter is pointless.
The editorial points towards the differing lines existing within the Cabinet, referring to Foreign Minister Tuomioja's more balanced approach in his letter to Muslim newspapers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helsingin Sanomat
Unquote
This is quite in contrast to the reactions of the political leaderships in many of the other EU member states.However, it is this type of stand that is required to be taken to defuse the situation. There is no point in making further provocative statements as that would further increase the anger and tension.Let us hope such enlightened action will beundertaken by more and more countries.