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Cartoon row has Rice worried
12/02/2006 19:47 - (SA)
Washington - United States secretary of state Condoleezza Rice expressed concern on Sunday that Muslim outrage about cartooons of the Prophet Muhammad could "spin out of control", particularly if fuelled by countries like Iran and Syria.
Speaking on ABC television, Rice stood by her assertion last week that Tehran and Damascus were using the furor about publication of the caricatures to inflame anti-West sentiment and incite violence for their own purposes.
"Certainly, if governments do not act responsibly, we could face a sense of outrage that spins out of control, and particularly if people continue to incite it, it could spin out of control," she said.
The chief US diplomat brushed aside comments by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan that he had no proof of Iranian or Syrian involvement in the protests, which had spread through the Muslim world and resulted in several deaths.
Had hoped for call for calm
"I can say that the Syrians tightly control their society and the Iranians even more tightly," she said.
"It is well known that Iran and Syria bring protesters into the streets when they wish, to make a point."
"I would like to have heard from the Iranian government... not a threat to start publishing a Holocaust cartoon, but rather to say that people should not resort to violence.
"That would have been a responsible thought," she added.
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