Web censorship in Sweden

Swedish security services shut down a far-right website which posted the Danish Mohammed cartoons.

Meanwhile, a top European Union official says a "European press charter" may be introduced, preventing newspapers in EU member states from disrespecting some readers' delicate religious sensibilities:

Plans for a European press charter committing the media to "prudence" when reporting on Islam and other religions, were unveiled yesterday.

Franco Frattini, the European Union commissioner for justice, freedom and security, revealed the idea for a code of conduct in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. Mr Frattini, a former Italian foreign minister, said the EU faced the "very real problem" of trying to reconcile "two fundamental freedoms, the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion".

Millions of European Muslims felt "humiliated" by the publication of cartoons of Mohammed, he added, calling on journalists and media chiefs to accept that "the exercising of a right is always the assumption of a responsibility". He appealed to European media to agree to "self-regulate".

Accepting such self-regulation would send an important political message to the Muslim world, Mr Frattini said.

And the message is: "we'll do anything you want! Please don't kill us!" (Once again, I repeat my advice to my British readers: get out while you still can.)

Posted by damian at February 10, 2006 07:44 AM | TrackBack