The EU’s rotating presidency is currently held by Slovenia. And Slovenia’s foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel today announced his disapproval of a short film about the Koran, describing it as a confrontation which ought to be avoided.
The film is about to be released by Dutch politician Geert Wilders, and the Dutch government has set up a crisis room in anticipation of the howling outrage some sections of the community might express.
Yet the EU claims to stand for freedom of expression and seems to have little desire to defend it. And it’s interesting that Rupel is a member of PEN which also claims to defend freedom of expression.
“PEN stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations, and members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression in the country and community to which they belong, as well as throughout the world wherever this is possible.”
It’s doubtful whether he’s seen the film. But that doesn’t stop him from saying:
“We should steer clear of confrontations. I don’t understand why they want to score a political point through this provocation which will affect many people, maybe millions. So let’s be very cautious.”