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international / rights, freedoms and repression / news report Monday March 06, 2006 01:26 by Coilín ÓhAiseadha
In a striking departure from customary practice, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 3 March attempted to abolish the Danish principle of freedom of information by charging award-winning journalist Bo Elkjær a fee for copying documents requested under the Danish Open Administration Act. In return, Elkjær accuses the ministry of conducting “considerations of matters of principle” and charging fees that have no basis in the legislation, in an attempt to obstruct his access to official documents concerning Denmark’s invasion and occupation of Iraq. In January, 2004, Elkjær was awarded the prestigious Cavling Prize, Denmark’s most coveted award for journalism, for his work in exposing the misinformation and disinformation with which the Danish government succeeded in gaining support for the ill-fated invasion of Iraq. Denmark has approximately 500 troops in the British-controlled area of southern Iraq. The foreign ministry has blacklisted Elkjær, rejecting his frequent requests for an interview with Conservative foreign minister Per Stig Møller. In January this year, the ministry nevertheless reassured Elkjær that he was entitled to seek access to documents in accordance with the Danish freedom of information act, or Open Administration Act. But, following a period of “considerations of matters of principle”, the ministry has now demanded that Elkjær sign an undertaking to pay for each document copied. Elkjær greets this latest attempt to obstruct his access to information with derision: “Have you gone stark raving mad?” he asks chief clerk Thomas Winkler and other staff at the ministry. Elkjær points out that the Danish Open Administration Act – in stark contrast to the Irish legislation – makes no provision to charge journalists a fee for copying official documents. Please read the dramatically entertaining exchange between Elkjær and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in translation below. read full story / add a comment
international / rights, freedoms and repression / other press Monday March 06, 2006 01:09 by Coilín ÓhAiseadha
Speaking to a meeting of 76 ambassadors in Copenhagen on Friday 3 March, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen deplored the publication of twelve cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper last September and asserted that Danish freedom of expression is tempered with tolerance and respect for different religions. Up to very recently, referring to freedom of expression as “the very foundation of Danish society”, Danish prime minister and minister for the press Anders Fogh Rasmussen had refused to meet with a group of Muslim ambassadors to discuss what they perceive as an “ongoing smear campaign” against Islam. The ambassadors quote four instances where Danish politicians and media have expressed hatred for Muslims: Speaking two months before the publication of the controversial Muhammad cartoons, radio host Kaj Vilhelmsen suggested that Islamic terrorism could only be combated by expelling or killing Muslims. Writing on her website two weeks before the cartoons were published, member of parliament for the Danish People’s Party Louise Frevert compared “the Muslim menace” with “a tumour which we know will kill us, if we don’t find and annihilate it ...” In a speech at the Conservative Party’s national conference six days before the Muhammad cartoons were published, Minister for Culture Brian Mikkelsen accused Muslims of developing a “parallel society” within Denmark, “where minorities practise their medieval norms and undemocratic ways of thinking.” And, of course, there are the infamous cartoons themselves, published in Jyllands-Posten on 30 September last. The text of the accompanying article states explicitly that the cartoons were commissioned specifically to offend against the Islamic taboo on depicting the Prophet – and not, for example, to tackle the issue of terrorism. Please read the excerpts from the website of the Danish national broadcasting station, DR, and from the centre-left daily, Politiken, in translation: read full story / add a comment
national / rights, freedoms and repression / opinion/analysis Monday March 06, 2006 00:58 by Pat fitzgerald
According to the Irish Times two protesters who sued the State and Garda Commissioner for assault following the reclaim the streets protest three years ago have settled out of court. No details were disclosed. read full story / add a comment |
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