By Paul Belien
Wednesday, February 22, 2006Last Saturday Tim Blair wrote that so far thirteen papers have been closed down after they published the Danish cartoons. at least twelve journalists face charges and seven are in prison. "Most media organisations have taken a stand by boldly running away,” says Blair. "Journalists can spend entire careers mouthing off about their commitment to free speech without ever having the chance to properly demonstrate it. I once had a theory that the lack of repression in modern democracies drove journalists to invent McCarthyesque threats, so much did they crave an opportunity to stare down those who would silence them. Their ideal imagined foes (I'm guessing): brutish religious fundamentalists opposed to progressive notions on women's rights, homosexuality, art, and education. Problem is, those imagined foes were always named Falwell or Robertson or Nile (or John Paul II). Faced with fundamentalist religious demands from people bearing less familiar titles, however, the media froze. Missed your chance, journalists!”
Since Saturday the figures need updating. Yesterday a Saudi newspaper was banned after printing some of the cartoons. Some socialist governments in the West are no better than their islamist counterparts. Sweden has already closed two websites for publishing the cartoons, and the Finnish government closed one, and quickly apologized to Muslims worldwide for the drawings.
The fate of the imprisoned journalists, who now linger in cells in Islamic countries for taking the brave decision to show the public what the cartoons are really like, should be a matter for concern amongst their colleagues around the globe. The resounding silence on the part of the latter, however, proves that most journalists are either downright cowards or the Quislings of anti-Western forces. This reminds me of the infamous Brussels journalist Philippe Servaty who last summer deliberately ruined the lives of more than eighty unfortunate Moroccan women (whom he had each wooed, promised to marry and take with him to Belgium) by posting nude pictures of them on the internet. While Servaty walks free, the women in Morocco were killed by their disgraced families, committed suicide or were locked up as whores in Moroccan jails. Today many of these women are still in prison, serving their one-year sentence. I addressed some of the largest and most powerful international women's organizations and asked them to launch campaigns for their unfortunate sisters in Morocco – to no avail. The feminists are only interested in their own abortion rights, not in the plight of Muslim women in jail.
It is interesting to compare the behaviour of the Quisling governments of Sweden and Finland to that of the Netherlands. Today (Tuesday) Dutch foreign minister Ben Bot sharply rebuked EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana for the way in which the latter grovelled at the feet of radical Muslim regimes last week, when on a tour of arab nations Mr Solana, a Spanish Socialist, declared that Europe shared the "anguish” of "offended” Muslims over the Danish cartoons. The Dutch Secretary for European affairs, atzo Nicolai, is quoted in today's De Telegraaf, the largest paper of the Netherlands, about Mr Solana: "He has toured around in order to offer apologies. On behalf of whom, I ask. You and me? We did not draw those cartoons.”
Despite its brave stance, however, the Dutch also have their Quislings. Last month the authorities in amsterdam prohibited the police from patrolling certain areas of the city in uniform after a Moroccan "youth” had died in a traffic accident. This situation was sufficient for the authorities to consider it unwise that the "youths” be "provoked” by the sight of police uniforms.
One of the worst Quisling regimes can be found in neighbouring Belgium. There the government has an entire organisation at its disposal, the so-called Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR). This Centre systematically prosecutes people who oppose "multiculturalism.” Yesterday it decided to take a Belgian company to court. The company, Feryn, in the Flemish town of Londerzeel, 20 kms to the north of Brussels, makes and installs security garage gates. Though Feryn has Moroccan employees working in the factory it never sends Moroccans to clients when the gates have to be installed in their villas and mansions. This is so, the company says, because the clients do not want Moroccans working in their houses. The CEOOR is now charging Feryn with racism and demanding penalties.
The Centre is also prosecuting Father Samuel, a traditionalist priest, on charges of racism and "islamophobia.” The 64-year old priest, whose real name is Charles-Clment Boniface, was born in Turkey. He writes articles and books and has a website, warning against "the islamic invasion of Belgium.” The priest has been brought to court for "incitement to racism” for remarks such as "Every thoroughly islamized Muslim child that is born in Europe is a time bomb for Western children in the future. The latter will be persecuted when they have become a minority,” or "Muslims have no nationality. The only thing that counts is Islam,” or "Islam is the eternal enemy of the West.''
The Belgian authorities are currently also prosecuting Daniel Fret, the leader of the Belgian Front National, a party which has 8% of the votes in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. The public prosecutor is demanding a one-year jail sentence for Mr Fret and the outlawing of his party. Two years ago the CEOOR obtained a conviction of the Vlaams Blok, the largest party in Flanders, Belgium's Dutch-speaking north, where it polled 25% of the votes. The party was disbanded after having been declared "a criminal organisation.” It has since been reestablished as Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) and is currently the largest party in Belgium. Recently, the CEOOR opened an investigation against it for "islamophobia,” threatening to deprive it of its funding.
The Belgian authorities, however, deliberately refrain from prosecuting racist speech from Muslims such as Dyab abu Jahjah. When the latter recently started a judeophobic cartoon series the CEOOR explicitly decided not to prosecute so as not to inflame the situation. Hate crimes against americans are also tolerated. Indeed, if people would say about Muslims what they say about americans the CEOOR would long have dragged them to court for hate crimes. as Luc Van Braekel wrote here last year:
Racist or semi-racist expressions are punished when they originate from popular culture or from right-wing politicians and are directed against muslims, arabs or africans, but similar expressions remain unpunished when they come from ‘progressive' artists and leftist intellectuals and are directed against the americans, the British or the Dutch. In my opinion, the CEOOR and its policies are leading us to a less tolerant society, with more social irritation, distrust and friction. When the state tries to control the thoughts and minds of the people, it will only lose their respect.
The latter, however, does not matter to the Quislings whose only goal it is to sell the people out to dhimmitude in Eurabia.
Unfortunately, the Belgian authorities may not be the only Quislings in Brussels. The Frankfurter Rundschau reports today that the EU is considering increasing aid to the Palestinian authority in response to Israel's decision to place financial restrictions on the country. Representatives of Hamas are currently in Tehran, and EU diplomats are worried that if the Palestinian finances collapse the Palestinians will turn to the Iranians for assistance rather than to Europe.
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