Final Word from Friday, February 10, 2006
During a small gathering on Tues., Jiří Paroubek put aside his tough talk and made some conciliatory remarks about the cartoon crisis in the Muslim world. He said he isn't sure the EU should speak as a single voice against the protests. It's not such a big deal when someone demonstrates, he said, and this is a lesson for Europe that there are limits to freedom of speech and that there is such thing as respect for other cultures. By apologizing and giving the issue time, he said, the protests will pass. Sitting in the front was Deputy Foreign Minister Jaroslav Bašta. Less than 24 hours later, he made statements that essentially contradicted what Paroubek had said. The foreign ministry said that Europe must come together to defend the right of newspapers to print what they want. So, exactly where does the CR stand on the cartoon issue? As in the Iraq war, it's on both sides of the fence at the same time. [Czech Republic Czech Council on Foreign Relations Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Iran Middle East]