Posted on 02/06/2006 1:17:17 PM PST by iPod Shuffle
Danish march over cartoons
Published: Sunday, 5 February, 2006, 11:22 AM Doha Time
COPENHAGEN: Danes on the far left and extreme right took to the streets yesterday, adding a political dimension to a blistering row over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) first published in a Danish newspaper.
A few hundred leftist activists gathered near the railway station of Hilleroed, some 30km northeast of Copenhagen, at 1pm (1200 GMT).
The marchers, many of them clad in black and bearing banners urging people to “Crush the Nazis”, turned out to protest against another march by the extreme-right grouping Danish Front, which started an hour later from the same spot.
“This affair has gone much too far and it’s clearly the fault of the Danish government,” said Helle Mortensen, a 17-year-old redhead dressed in black.
“Freedom of expression does not mean to hurt others,” she told AFP.
“We say no to the racist and ignorant Danish Front demonstration against Muslims in Denmark and in the world,” Daniel Savi, a local secretary of march organisers SFU, the youth wing of the Socialist People’s party, told AFP.
The cartoons, first published last September by the conservative Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, have caused an uproar in the Muslim world and drawn a new cultural battle over freedom of speech and religious tolerance.
Incensed Muslims have demonstrated against Danes and other Europeans, burnt Danish flags and boycotted the country’s products. Danish ambassadors have been recalled and Westerners in Muslim countries threatened.
The Danish Front, in a statement ahead of its own demonstration, said that it was acting to protest against “the lenience by the Danish elite in the face of recent attacks by Muslims against our country and our flag”. The extreme-right organisers called for demonstrators to march calmly, but said that “one can almost expect that the anti-racists are fantasising about a violent confrontation”.
“We are here to protect our freedom of expression and express our criticism of a lenient government towards Muslim aggression against our freedom of expression,” Danish Front spokesman Julius Boergesoen, a tall, blond Dane, told AFP at the demonstration.
Many stores had removed their shop window display after police had warned that the left-wing demonstration could include “troublemakers”, but there was no violence beyond an occasional call of “Nazi pig” addressed to the rightist marchers, who were clearly outnumbered by their rivals.
Around 100 Danish Muslims had joined the left-wing demonstration “because we want to show the world that Muslims are not terrorists”, Bassen, a 20-year old demonstrator, told AFP.
In another demonstration yesterday, without overtly political overtones, an initiative called “mutual respect” expected to bring together 2,000 people in Frederiksberg, near Copenhagen, to march for “respect and dialogue”, Danish media reported. – AFP
Okay - I need a scorecard now.
The same left that thinks religion is the opiate of the masses?? Okaaaay...
Useless idiots!
But put a crucifix in a cup of urine, and they'll be marching in support of "artistic expression."
Can Helle Mortensen not see the pain her words have caused to the representatives in the Danish government. Ms. Mortensen, you have the freedom to criticize your government, but when you do it hurts. Stop the hurting!
This is from The Onion. Right?
Sheep. They should be dropped off in Cairo or Jakarta to see how understanding the muslim masses are of their sympathy.
Unbelievable! GGGGrrrrr!!!
Hurt, Helle, means to cut someone's head off like the mooselimbs love to do. If you think your comment makes a mooselimb feel warm and cozy towards you, you're dead wrong.
Leftist dumbbells like you (17 years old, what the hell do you know?) just fuel the terrorist fires.
Why do they describe the Danish Front guy as a "tall, blonde Dane"? Maybe to make allusion to "the master race"?
They didn't physically describe the socialist woman on the opposing side.
This little teenie bopper needs to be in government class instead of showing her ignorance.
Those demonstrating in support of Islamofacism with a banner calling to "Crush the Nazis" are actually supporting them. What freaking nimrods!!
Step right up! Pick a side!
More like STFU.
Leftist dumbbells like you
Those are hurtful expressions. Tomorrow I'm finding a 17-year-old redhead and dressing her in black to protest you. ;-)
This organization needs to be put on the blacklist and banned. Denmark, like many other nations, is in danger of losing its sovereignty.
America needs to do the same damned thing.
Maxine Waters and the rest of that communist gaggle in congress needs to arrested for sedition for belonging to that party that's a haven for radicalism.
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