Gulf | Qatar
'Violence over images must end immediately'
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has called for an immediate end to the violence which has erupted over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
- By Barbara Bibbo', Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 February 27, 2006
Doha: Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has called for an immediate end to the violence which has erupted over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Annan, together with Islamic and Western world leaders, issued a joint statement calling for an immediate end to the violence over the cartoons.
The declaration, read out by Annan on the eve of the Alliance of Civilisations Conference that opened in Doha on Sunday, condemned blasphemy of religions but stated also that freedom of expression was sacred and the media should use it responsibly.
"All of us join to renew our call for restraint and for an immediate end to the present atmosphere that threatens to sow deep discord between communities, societies and countries.
"We deeply regret the offence given by the caricatures, as well as the loss of life and damage to property in several countries," Annan said.
"We reaffirm the universal right to freedom of expression. We appeal to everyone to use it responsibly and not to use it as a pretext for incitement to hatred or insult to the deeply-held belief of any community."
The statement, drafted by representatives of the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in consultation with the European Union, will be submitted to the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, Annan said.
The statement was made in the presence of Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabor Al Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ekmeleddin Ihasanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
Annan clarified the absence of EU representatives was due to agenda problems and not a disagreement.
He said he had discussed the statement during conversations with Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Police and Security Policy, and Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the EU presidency, and he was sure there would be agreement over it.
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