The daily argues that Geert Wilders has a hypocritical message. "'Fitna' is a propaganda film that imitates all the methods used by radical and authoritarian regimes to pit communities against each other. The film 'Fitna' tries to push Dutch Muslims into a corner by suggesting that violence and hate come directly from the Koran. Thus, the film justifies Wilders' program that seeks to ban the Koran and close Islamic schools and Mosques. At the end of the film, Wilders calls on Dutch Muslims to rip pages from the Koran. In other words: Muslims cannot become citizens in the full sense of the word without rejecting the Koran. ... With 'Fitna,' Wilders has done the debate around the integration of Muslims in Dutch society a terrible service." (29/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Religion, » Integration, » Netherlands

Christian Ultsch describes 'Fitna' as a "crude and uninspired propagandist short film" and comments: "But more disturbing than this disastrous film are the hysterical reactions to it. Not only the Dutch government, but also the EU presidency and the European Commission felt obliged to condemn Mr Wilders' filmic flatus in an attempt to prevent another round of flag and embassy-burning by outraged Muslims. Europe is thus rashly yielding to the neurotic discourse of frustrated and aggressive activists. And indeed, on Friday night it wasn't long before politicians from Jordan to Iran were making angry demands for the film to be banned. But that's going too far: in Europe, freedom of expression must mean that even tasteless rubbish like Wilders' pamphlet can circulate freely - and pronounce its own death sentence." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Christian Ultsch

Miloslav Surgos has mixed feelings about Wilders' film. "Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental freedoms of Western civilisation. But there's a problem. This film is not about freedom of expression. ... The author creates tensions between the West and Muslims while acting solely in his own interest. He is deliberately provocative and constantly pushing against legal limits. This increases his political popularity. Moreover, he has rather unfortunate opinions on the freedom of others, repeatedly proposing banning the Koran in the Netherlands." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Miloslav Surgos

The Danish daily writes that "clever" Dutch imams and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen are right to remain silent on the subject of the anti-Islam film "Fitna". "If this miserable piece of work triggers a media debate and political reactions, it will only be because of the 'cartoon row'. Here in Denmark the polarised discussion and Muslim death threats have led many people to forget that defending the right to freedom of expression is no excuse to switch off one's brain and forget the difference between argument and propaganda, between public discussion and hate-fulled vilification." (29/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Tøger Seidenfaden

Following the appearance of Geert Wilders' film on the internet, Dominique Sopo, president of SOS Racisme, objects to "the weakness or the unbelievable character of the reactions of some states. The political reactions of the European states have clearly failed. There is an inability to call Wilders what he is (a character who plays on racism and not a libertarian hellion). There is an inability to prevent this dark story from becoming the subject of a stupefying international debate. There is an inability to bring to an end this religious prism through which immigrant and foreign populations are seen. Regarding Muslim countries, the reactions are equally surprising. The governments of these countries are 'obliged,' one after another, to pronounce on the mediocre diatribe of an obscure member of parliament." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Dominique Sopo

Political scientist Philip Manow cites French President Nicolas Sarkozy as proof that today's democracy is by no means as "de-personalised" or "disembodied" as generally believed. "The private sphere remains political even in our allegedly enlightened times, in which it is no longer so simple to link the fluctuating economy with changing love affairs of the ruler as it was on the eve of the French Revolution, when people unquestioningly blamed bad harvests on Louis XVI's impotence. ... No one knows this better than Nicolas Sarkozy himself. The main task of the bodyguards who were his constant companions during the presidential election campaign was to make sure photographers didn't get pictures of his shoes, with their high heels. They weren't protecting his physical body from attack but his political persona from the attacks of the media against his public image." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Philip Manow

For its 40th anniversary, journalist Luc Caregari reflects on the legacy of the May 1968 social movement. "At least one thing is clear: without May 68, we wouldn't be here now. The right to speak freely on a variety of subjects, from abortion to divorce and even the right to die with dignity dates from this time. This implies that those who wish to characterise May 68 as the source of all that is wrong today are hypocrites, like Sarkozy: without May 68, a twice-divorced president who has no trouble enjoying the company of a supermodel, would be impossible. It is therefore not May 68 which has aged poorly, but above all those who are still looking for a meaning, who want to update it at any price, regardless of whether they're for or against. Because we cannot be for or against an event in the past, we cannot even claim the right to definitively judge it." (27/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Luc Caregari

"While the Tibetans continue demonstrating in Lhassa despite the repression, the Europeans have very courageously taken the step of treating China with kid gloves as much as possible. Meeting in Slovenia [on March 29th] under the presidency of a Dimitrij Ruppel obsessed by the Balkans, the Foreign Ministers called the umpteenth time for dialogue and respect for human rights," writes the editorialist Sabine Verhest. "But what can we hope for in a Europe, and in particular in a Greece - the cradle of democracy ! - that doesn't hesitate to clamp down on those who dare to brandish a Tibetan banner and to ban the international press from covering the arrival of the Olympic flame at the Acropolis ? Europe should maybe stop this hypocrisy and clearly state that it only defends human rights when it's convenient. And, in this case, defending human rights is not." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Sabine Verhest

The British Parliament will start debating this week a law that proposes extending the time a terrorist suspect can be detained before he is charged from 28 to 42 days. Former Chief Constable Geoffrey Dear rejects this proposal. "At 28 days, our existing pre-charge detention limit is nearly four times that of most other common-law nations and European countries using the adversarial system. In the US, the land that has brought us such counter-productive policies as indefinite detention for 'enemy combatants' in Guantánamo, the maximum amount of time a suspect can be held is a mere 48 hours. Why then must Britain need 42 days - six weeks - to hold suspects before they are charged? Even those who say that the UK legal system is incomparable to European practices must question the scale of this discrepancy and our commitment to due process in difficult times." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Geoffrey Dear

The academic Carlos Abreu Amorim reacts to the spokesman for the Episcopal Conference's recent criticisms of the government, notably after the legalisation of abortion in 2007. "The bishop Carlos Azevedo has poured forth his political declarations. These aren't the usual appeals for public funds in the sectors that concern the Church. He goes further and involves himself in the political ring by taking clear-cut positions against the government. ... We are witnessing here a strategic turn. After several years during which the state Church kept itself out of the political arena, we now have a new player on the scene. As a man of the right, I regret this development. During the recent Spanish legislative elections, the leader of the right, Mariano Rajoy, took up the most extreme positions of the Spanish Church. According to many observers, this is one of the major reasons he lost." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Carlos Abreu Amorim

Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the Italian right, recently denounced the attempt by Air France-KLM to buy Alitalia. For Marie-Laure Cittanova, Berlusconi thus brings to light "the fractures of the departing government [headed by Romano Prodi]. ... This is forcing Walter Veltroni, the left candidate [for April 13 and 14th's legislative elections], into a difficult position. Rome's mayor had initially praised the government. Then he attempted to obscure his connections with the team that had so greatly disappointed. Berlusconi's offensive has again forced him to take a position of solidarity. ... What does 'il Cavaliere' hope to do with such a move ? He probably thinks that he'll profit from putting a lid on any move from the centre-left, especially if he can at the same time play to his supporters in the north. He risks, however, his credibility if he cannot bring about an alternative offer to that of the Franco-Dutch company." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Marie-Laure Cittanova

Johanna Westman comments on the debate about a new law in Sweden aimed at protecting the Swedish language against English-creep: "Languages change; this is a fact that isn't necessarily negative. ... Finnish-Swedish is constantly exposed to the influence of Finnish, but at the same time Finnish-Swedes living in Sweden are often complimented on their good and well-spoken Swedish. This can be attributed to the fact that there is a comparatively high degree of awareness about language in Finland. This, in turn, could be a result of the bilingualism which is part of our everyday life here." (31/03/2008)

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Estonian writer Jaan Kaus calls for literature to be given high priority in the plans for the new school curriculum. "Literature is an important school subject for both formal reasons and textual reasons. The formal aspect is literature's influence on everyday usage of the language, because reading increases people's powers of expression. One could even say that literature is one of the most important intellectual sources. The less people are able to use their language, the poorer the world becomes and the less they can express themselves and communicate. The textual aspect revolves around people's relation to the world around them. In this respect literature differs greatly from mathematics. I appreciate the latter's importance for promoting logical and spatial thinking, but I've never met the square root of seven on the street." (31/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Education, » Literature, » Public Culture, » Cultural Policy, » Estonia
All available articles from » Jaan Kaus

"The Baltic region is outshining the Mediterranean area," writes Jan Brachmann on the occasion of the "Helsinkiss" Helsinki festival in Berlin. "Old Europe is gasping for breath. The last gasp, which came from Nicolas Sarkozy, was called the 'Mediterranean Union'. But with the exception of Catalonia and the Provence, there is barely any economic or intellectual impetus coming from the Mediterranean area - with the exception, perhaps, of the culinary sphere. Even when it comes to tourism, more and more people are heading north thanks to global warming. ... The geographical centre of the Continent is Vilnius, which is not far from the Baltic, even if the Latinised West still sees this region as peripheral. ... And once you've tasted smoked reindeer or wild strawberry jam with a glass of sparkling fir cone wine (this delicacy is non-alcoholic and only 12,000 bottles of it are made per year), you won't be surprised to see the Baltic region overtake the Mediterranean in the culinary sphere as well." (31/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Exhibitions / Museums, » Fine Arts, » Public Culture, » Finland
All available articles from » Jan Brachmann

On March 31, the International Exhibition Board (BIE) will chose the host for the Universal Exhibition in 2015, Milan or Izmir. Sergio Romano considers the Italian city's chances. "During the organisation of an exhibition, a city often falls into a kind of artificial collective euphoria followed by a period of prostration ... . But, there are moments when the collective enthusiasm and the concentration of forces on a common objective can be useful for the morale of a city and for its future. ... These last 15 years Milan has created a new fair, restored the Scala, entirely renovated the Bicocca district; it has a few more theatres, has developed its metro system and constructed parking lots and incinerators. But when you are familiar with Barcelona, Lyon, Hamburg, Rotterdam or Glasgow, you have the impression that Milan, despite being the most dynamic city in Italy, is falling behind the European competition." (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Sergio Romano

Diana Josifova sees a potential ban on exports of Italian mozzarella due to high levels of dioxin as a chance for the Bulgarians to step into this market niche. "Bulgarian producers of dairy products should take advantage of the situation and get moving. They should stop calling for subsidies and demonstratively spilling thousands of litres of milk! The time has come for Europe to experience the delights of Bulgarian cheese in salt brine and Bulgarian soft cheese. There's been enough squabbling between the two dairy producers' associations. They should join forces and stage an aggressive campaign to convince people that Bulgarian cheese can easily compete with Italian mozzarella and Greek feta. Bulgarians have exactly one month to do this, because this is the amount of time estimated for mozzarella to reach its former quality standards. Now is the time to import 12,000 super buffaloes from India!" (31/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Diana Josifowa