|
EU mulls over media code
09/02/2006 07:56 - (SA)
London - The European Union may try to draw
up a media code of conduct to avoid a repeat of the furore
caused by the publication across Europe of cartoons of the
Prophet Muhammad, an EU commissioner said on Thursday.
In an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph, EU Justice
and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said the charter would
encourage the media to show "prudence" when covering religion.
"The press will give the Muslim world the message: We are
aware of the consequences of exercising the right of free
expression," he told the newspaper. "We can and we are ready to
self-regulate that right."
The cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper
last September before being reprinted across Europe, sparked a
wave of protests around the world.
Newspapers which have published them say they are exercising
their right to freedom of speech, while critics say the cartoons
are deliberately offensive. Depicting the Prophet Muhammad is
prohibited by Islam.
Frattini, a former Italian foreign minister, said millions
of Muslims in Europe felt "humiliated" by the cartoons.
His proposed voluntary code would urge the media to respect
all religious sensibilities but would not offer privileged
status to any one faith.
The code would be drawn up by the European Commission, the
EU executive body, and European media outlets, he said. It would
not have legal status.
The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana is to travel to
Arab and Muslim countries in an attempt to calm the anger caused
by the cartoons.
|
News
