First I would like to state right off – I did not (still do not) want to get involved in the satirical images of the Prophet discussion.
The BBC report that the Swedish government have closed down a far right news site which contained the images (via Suburbia).
The Swedish government has moved to shut down the website of a far-right political party’s newspaper over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad..It is believed to be the first time a Western government has intervened to block a publication in the growing row…
Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds described Kuriren’s move as “a provocation” by “a small group of extremists.”“I will defend freedom of the press no matter what the circumstances, but I strongly condemn the provocation by SD-Kuriren. It displays a complete lack of respect,” she said in a statement.
Again – Without wanting to get involved in the fight about the cartoons.
The politician claims to be defending the free press while closing it down. This is retoric from another age, another country another ideology. An interesting thing to add to this is a “what if” experiment. Would the government react in the same way if one of the largest daily newspapers printed the same material? Does political courage in Sweden only apply if the opponent is weak?
How’s that for a thought this weekend?