WASHINGTON, Feb 15: The Danish government should talk to the Muslim community to defuse the controversy stirred by the publication of blasphemous caricatures in a Copenhagen newspaper, said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Ms Lee, co-chair of the Pakistan caucus in the US Congress, told a meeting held on the Hill to highlight the Kashmir issue, that she opposed the sketches first published in a Danish newspaper but felt that there was no justification for violence either.
“I call upon the Danish government to talk to the Muslim community, not to the fundamentalists but Muslims in general … and help defuse the controversy,” she said.
The Danish government, she said, would not be bending to any pressure if they talked to the Muslims. While stressing the need for respecting religious diversity, Congresswoman Lee also emphasized the need to upheld freedom of speech. But this freedom, she said, came with responsibility and “misuse of this responsibility, wherever it happens, is deplorable.” “We must talk to the Muslims to show that we respect their feelings,” she added.
Ms Lee also recalled “the horrible tragedy” that struck Kashmir and northern Pakistan on Oct. 8 and urged the international community to stay engaged with Pakistan in the rebuilding of the earthquake affected areas.
Responding to Ms Lee’s sentiments on the cartoon controversy, Ambassador Jehangir Karamat deplored that a section of the European media failed to fulfill the responsibilities that came with freedom. “We are seeing what happens when the responsibilities that come with freedom are not respected,” he added.
Focusing largely on the Kashmir dispute, Ambassador Karamat said that while recent confidence-building measures by Pakistan and India had helped improve the environment, they would not “go anywhere” unless the people of Kashmir are given their rights.
