Clinton urges EU to convict publishers of caricatures

[The Straight Story]

Clinton urges EU to convict publishers of caricatures

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Former US president Bill Clinton on Friday condemned the publication of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) caricatures by European newspapers and urged countries concerned to convict the publishers.

Talking to reporters after meeting Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad, Clinton said he disagreed with the caricatures and that the publication was against religious and ethical norms. Clinton said he had no objection to peaceful demonstrations being held worldwide, but this was not the time for violence. He said it was the time to promote inter-faith harmony and stand together on the issue.

He said the people’s religious convictions should be respected at all costs and the media should be disallowed to play with the religious sentiments of other faiths. He said the media could criticise any issue including governments and people, but nobody had the right to play with the sentiments of other faiths.

Clinton said people in the US had also condemned the publication and were deeply concerned over it. He said they respected Islam, as it was the fastest growing religion in the US. Clinton also called on President Pervez Musharraf and both men discussed the India-Pakistan peace process and Afghanistan’s peace and stabilisation process.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\02\18\story_18-2-2006_pg1_7

I ain't thinking this is accurate reporting....

[RagingInMiami]

1. Convict the publishers of what?

[aquart]

2. Convict...?

Dear god, what is happening here?

[babylonsister]

3. So he wants to remove freedom of expression in a democratic

society? What's happened to Big Dawg?

[Eric J in MN]

11. There are no direct quotes of Bill Clinton.

Take it with a grain of salt.

The reporter may have misunderstood him.

[Earth_First]

4. In other news: Clinton votes to limit debate on Patriot Act Reauthorizatio

"I ain't thinking this is accurate reporting."

It's SPOT ON, unfortunately.

[politicaholic]

5. Huh? This doesn't make any sense...

this is a goof or just horrible reporting. Clinton would never ask that people be jailed for free speech.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I wouldn't convict the publishers

for publishing the cartoons per se, but if it could be proven that they did this with malicious intent, perhaps a case can be made; I don't know Danish law or what constitutes libel in that country. If there is no such law, then I don't see that they can do much about it legally. I do believe that non-violent protests, such as petitions, non-violent demonstrations, and boycotts must be allowed and even encouraged as an effective alternative to violence.

I think one thing that would help DUers understand the situation would be for people right here to discuss in an open and understanding way the reasons why the cartoons were upsetting and provocative to Muslims, not to change anyone's belief system, but to understand another belief system and how these actions are being used simply to stir up emotions and troubles. I do sincerely believe the cartoons are merely a symbol of what is really two competing world views. I also believe that, with work and respect, these world views can be harmonized.

[catmother]

14. i thought that we had discussed the cartoons and the muslim

take on them ad nauseum. i'm tired of it. just like i'm tired of hearing about dick cheney shooting his friend.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

19. If you are sick of threads like these, ignore them

That's what I do with threads about topics I'm tired of. Remember with some 80.000 members, there are some that haven't been around (sickness, no access to computer for a while, etc) and are just catching up on things that interest them. Others, like me, are interested in specific topics. Other topics are tiresome and ho-hum to me, so I just ignore them-I realize that to others, they may be the most important thing on the board.

[catmother]

21. well maybe you're right. maybe there are people who have not

posted on the threads and they should have their say. i just don't think that anymore discussion is going to change the way people feel. i spent last friday night actually till 4:am saturday morning on one of these threads and nothing was solved. we all seemed to stick to our original point of view and it got quite nasty at times and posts had to be deleted. i just wish the whole thing could be put to rest -- not only in the country but throughout the world. but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

actually, i think you might have been on the thread i mentioned. anyway thanks for your input i'm always open to constructive criticism and i try to keep an open mind.

wishing you a good night.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

22. Get some rest!

I agree that there's no point in flogging a dead horse. I think I reached my limit last night myself; I used the ignore button for the first time. I didn't realize from your first post that you were referring to this sort of spat-I thought you meant the threads in general. Even yesterday I was going through some of the threads and finding folks who had their first say on the matter, and that was what I meant.

[catmother]

23. thanks you get some rest too. i had to use the ignore button

last week. it can get really nasty.

[acmejack]

7. I will wait for verification before I freak out.

I will be the first to admit I am not William J's biggest fan, but I'll certainly give him the benefit of the doubt in a story sourcing the Pakistan Daily Times.

On edit: I have checked three other Pakistani papers versions of the same meeting an several other accounts, none of which had Clinton calling for criminal sanction of the publishers of the cartoons. There were 64 stories returned in my search. I didn't read them all.

[The Straight Story]

8. Seems to be a few hits on google news:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial_s&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=clinton+convict+caricatures&filter=0


BUT if you omit convict and just do a search on clinton caricatures things seem to less crazy

[jackbourassa]

9. Is there any group in the world Clinton doesn't pander to?

This is the worse thing he could have done. He is basically saying that these idiot protesters are right to riot. He is saying that printing these cartoons is a CRIME!!!!

Clinton is an idiot.

[Eric J in MN]

12. We don't know exactly what he said or whether that was

an accurate summary.

[jackbourassa]

20. True. But he still panders a lot.

But, if he did say it would you agree with my assessment?

[Eric J in MN]

24. No, I don't want people prosecuted for publishing cartoons.

nt

[Eric J in MN]

10. There are no direct quotes of Bill Clinton in any of the articles.

I'm hoping it was a misinterpretation.

[catmother]

13. i thought i heard bill's voice this morning saying that the cartoons

were wrong -- that the US thought they were wrong -- and no one should get killed for it. this was shortly after i heard that a price was put on the heads of the people who published the cartoons.

brings back memories of salmon rushkie (sp?).

[oscarguy]

25. Bill Clinton must be getting soft as a grape. Freedom of Speech and

from religion should be the issue here. ...Oscar

[DemExpat]

15. I feel that Clinton is going too far in appeasing Muslim sentiments

but media in Pakistan (and other predominantly Muslim countries) seem to use spin quite a bit too and exaggerate actual words spoken.

Last week I read one journalist piece that seemed to be gloriously celebrating the mighty slap down of European governments and media by the violent protests.

DemEx

[x-g.o.p.er]

16. Freedom of the Press?!?!?!

Helloooooo, has anyone heard of that concept lately? I swear I remember reading about once.

[fujiyama]

17. Exagerrated headline

Clinton condemned the cartoons and basically said the publisher should have exercised better judgmement.

I read nowhere that Clinton urged conviction. If he did, I would no longer respect him.

But either way, Clinton isn't exactly strong on free speech. He did sign the Communication Decency Act which was later struck down UNANIMOUSLY by the SC.

It's very easy for the US to condemn a bunch of silly cartoons, but the real cause for anger among Muslims should be easier to identify. Invading a nation uder false pretenses should be condemned much stronger. But it's difficult for Clinton to do so since he backed the war.

[catmother]

18. that's what i heard him say. better judgment.