Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has stood strongly for the freedom of speech, refusing to curtail it in accord with Muslim cartoon rage demands. However, he is surprised that all this has happened, given Danish support for the Palestinians, which he says will continue. It doesn't appear to occur to him that cartoon rage has been fueled by the same Islamic jihad ideology of which the Palestinians are the foremost contemporary exponent.
From Der Spiegel, with thanks to Erick Stakelbeck:
SPIEGEL: Your government launched an ambitious program two years ago to strengthen the dialogue and ties with Arab countries that has now failed. How are you going to revive this program?Fogh Rasmussen: It is a paradox: we were one of the first countries to start such a partnership program and we are among the largest net contributors to, for example, the Palestinians. And now we have to watch as the Danish flag is burned and violent demonstrations against us are organized. The Arab initiative was supposed to accelerate economic and social reforms in the region so it's now a shock to be so severely criticized. At the time, we felt we were at the forefront of modernization.
SPIEGEL: Now some are calling for a drastic reduction in economic support to, for example, the Palestinian Authority.
Fogh Rasmussen: We won't change our policies. It's now time to calm the waters, not cut funds. In the long-term, it would be in our own best interest to rebuild our good relationship with the Arab world.
They boycott your products and promise rivers of blood, you send them more money. This appeasement just happens to be the main ingredient in their recipe of intimidation.
Need money? Burn down a few embassies and then claim discrimination against muslims; the money will then come rolling in.
So, rebuilding good relations means paying tribute. To a country that stomps on you.
Prime Minister Rasmussen is further showing his ignorance. He's helping to finance the destruction of his own country. The Palestinians are the main ones that will dance in their streets when they are hit with an attack. A fact that ,for some reason, is also lost on the U.S. government. i can still see the Palestinian children dancing in the streets, rejoicing over the September 11th attack and the Palestinian woman lamenting the victory for Allah and Islime!!!
I hope that this isn't what Mr. Rasmussen wants for Denmark.
Unless it's his own brand of taqiyya, Rasmussen's statements show an appalling lack of knowledge of Islamic goals.
It would be nice to have politicians/leaders who know what it means to adhere to a set of values.
Very disappointing, this.
Has he got an e-mail? We should write to him, we might just make a difference, who knows?
Denmark and Norway were the European leaders in attempts to impose a boycott on Israeli goods. Irony is too mild a word for it.
There was campaigns aiming to boycott Israeli goods originating in Denmark, but it was never government policy, and I severely doubt it ever had any significant support in the Danish population at large. So yes, there was boycotts by a few people, but not by the vast majority of people in Denmark.
Furthermore, more and more Danes are now coming to realize that Israel is country under siege, and that the palestinians don't really deserve our support anymore.
Poet.. do you have links for what you said? I'm not doubting you really I just like back up. If I believed in karma.....
Sheik Yer'mami,
Here are the contact details for the Danish Embassy at least. What is said to them gets back to the government in Copehagen.
Embassy of Denmark
3200 Whitehaven St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
wasamb@um.dk
I think Anders¨made a good point. I hear constantly danes complaining about the support to the Fatah-movement (who started the flag-burning-festival). In a short time the danish policy will change - but Rasmussen are trying to defuse a situation - so its best not to talk of these issues today...
Here is the contact info directly to the The Prime Ministers Office. Any emails sent this way is propably screened by a few secretaries, but its the more direct than trying to contact him through an embassy.
Personally, I do believe that the recent events will cost the palestinians in terms of lost economic support. But right now the PM is trying to make things calm down, and cutting aid right now would have the opposite effect. But next time the budgets are due for an overhaul, I wouldnt be surprised if Dansk Folkepari succesfully insists on moving some of the foreign aid to benefit countries that are more friendly.
This situation is no more paradoxical than it would be to hand an avowed enemy a gun and expect not to be murdered.
It's predictable, not paradoxical.
Insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Rasmussen: "It's now time to calm the waters, not cut funds. In the long-term, it would be in our own best interest to rebuild our good relationship with the Arab world."
It's time to cut ties and put pressure on them wherever possible. We have a moral responsibility to do so. Muslim states have proven to be unreliable trading partners. Denmark is a small country that does not need Arab oil. Denmark should arrange more trade deals with Canada and Venezuela and get its oil from them, and should get all of its oil from non-Muslim states.
Just what audience does Rasmussen think he's playing to? Does he think the majority of Danes are going to be impressed with his display of friendship to those who called for the extermination of Danes? Does he think that Muslims' cartoon rage is going to be reduced by anything he could possibly say? And why continue to give funds to Islamic terrorists who have vowed to use everything at their disposal to kill Danish citizens?
The stupidity and the suicidal tendencies have got to stop.
He had it right the first time.
Archimedes,
DK is a net exporter of oil and does not import oil from ME.
As a Dane I think it is a good idea that the PM waits with actions that will make things worse. When all of this mess is calming down, funds will be taken from ME to support other parts of the world and the "danish" imams who travelled the ME to spread lies about DK, will get their well deserved kick out of the country. We are many who will never forget what they did - also on election day!
The "paradox" is that someone kicks you in the teeth and you hire them as your dentist.
Suckers as sure as lamprey eels.
IvanDK,
Thanks for the correction re Danish oil.
Nevertheless, Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia will not be reliable trading partners. A country simply cannot afford to have a trading partner that will try to destroy its economy over some cartoons (or whatever else happens to stir controversy). Let them burn their bridges with Denmark, and let Denmark look to new trading partners for its goods. Meanwhile, Denmark should close its borders indefinitely to all countries in which there were violent demonstrations against it. All travel between Denmark and those countries (where there was violent protest) should be curtailed.
"When all of this mess is calming down, funds will be taken from ME to support other parts of the world and the "danish" imams who travelled the ME to spread lies about DK, will get their well deserved kick out of the country."
I think this should happen now that the spotlight is on. This will show that the actions are directly contingent on the misbehaviour of the Muslim states. They need to be shown that their behaviour will not go unpunished. The issue is freedom of expression. The Muslims states fear freedom of expression, because they know Islam will not withstand it.
Mr. Rasmussen, now you know the true Muslims. All the prior warnings fell on deaf ears. Muslims are the most ungrateful people on earth.You cannot have a dialog with them. They want it all. Do not allow anymore of them into Denmark, if you really want to save Denmark for the future of Danes.They are liken to a cancer, they will eventully destroy the host. The very fist opportunity Muslims get they will cut your throat like the Imams did this time. Take care of the Danes, don't worry about the loss of few exports to them. All over the world there are others who will want Danish products, no one has a quarrel with Denmark. Its the Muslims who targeted the whole of Denmark for what was published in an independent news paper. Muslims don't ever understand the difference of a Free and liberal press and the separation of Religion & State. Don't even try to educate them. They could never understand it.
"it would be in our own best interest to rebuild our good relationship with the Arab world."
What good relationship? It seems like that of a calm, caring parent constantly giving in to the demands of an angry, tantrum-throwing child. But Denmark needs to realise that it is not the parent: just a step-parent somehow stuck with a tantrum-throwing, abusive, blaming adolescent. Time to walk away.
Maybe the adolescent will grow up in a few decades, and then come back saying 'actually, you were pretty cool and I did behave like an idiot back then...'
In that same interview, he actually did a brave thing: He said that what we are facing is Huntingdons clash of cicvilizations. I don't think any leader has done that before?
Maybe we shouldn't be so harsh on him!
"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!"
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/barbary.htm
It appears the early American (pre U.S.A.) leaders never really knew about dhimmitude/jizya either. Just extortion, tribute and piracy.
I am so glad that people are starting to learn the truth. Know them by their fruits. I'll try to do my part.
"Unless it's his own brand of taqiyya,"
its his own brand of taqiyya. he's not stupid.
lets face it - he cant inflame things any further - the imams across the islamic world are doing that anyway. if he inflamed it right now, he'd come across all wrong - right now, the "bad guy" tag is entirely on the Islamic imams - so , playing the Mr Nice Guy routine is EXACTLY what he should be doing politically. i hope the Danish people can see that, and based on recent polls, they certainly do.
he's doing the right thing. wait for it to calm down - then you'll see a (quiet) redirection of Danish funds to more friendlier countries.