” “"It was terrible to see people being killed, flags being burnt, learning of boycotts against a country’s goods and companies which jeopardise many jobs". Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, now a Socialist EU MP, and a Danish prime minister for a long time, received the warmest applause by the Strasbourg Parliament as he spoke this morning during the debate on the "Right to freedom of expression and respect of religious faith". The discussion saw the involvement of the high executives of the EU Council and Commission and all the political groups of the 25-state Parliament. "Ours is a tolerant country added the speaker, during history we have always fought for every country’s freedom. This is why we ask that violence be stopped today. At the same time, we censure, as my country’s government did, the caricatures that may have offended the sensitivity of the Muslim world. They are not the expression of the Danish people". And then: "The time has come to raise responsible voices; to join forces in a respectful dialogue; to involve all peoples, all religions, beyond all boundaries. In a global world, "we" and "them" make no sense any more. We have to move together towards a world of peace, based on tolerance, and cast out those who incite and act out violence".” “
