Indonesia says media should learn from cartoon fury

By Tomi Soetjipto

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s president on Thursday
called on the media to draw a lesson from the publication of
cartoons that have sparked Muslim protests worldwide, saying
freedom of the press was not absolute.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, leader of the world’s
most populous Islamic nation, also said he “can comprehend”
strong reaction from Muslims following the publication of
caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper.

“We must take a lesson from the publication in a Danish
newspaper. The rights of press freedom are not absolute,”
Yudhoyono said in a speech marking the national press day in
the West Java capital of Bandung.

“Whatever the faith, we must respect it,” he said.

Yudhoyono and his government have already condemned the
printing of the cartoons but urged Muslims to exercise
restraint, act peacefully, and accept the apology offered by
the Danish paper which first published the caricatures last
September.

The images — one showing the Prophet with a turban
resembling a bomb — have also been published elsewhere in
Europe and further afield, as well as being accessible on the
Internet.

MALAYSIA NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED

A Malaysian daily reported on Thursday that the government
had decided to suspend the publishing license of the Sarawak
Tribune newspaper for publishing the caricatures last weekend
apparently to illustrate a story on the global outrage.

Top Indonesian Islamic leaders have called on Muslims to
avoid violence in protests against the printing of the
cartoons, which in some countries have turned deadly.

The leader of Indonesia’s second largest Muslim group, the
30-million strong Muhammadiyah, told reporters that while the
cartoons had insulted Islam he was urging against violence.

“There may be fire in your heart but your head must be
cool. Don’t overreact,” Din Syamsuddin said.

In Indonesia there have been some injuries but no deaths in
the protests, which among other things have seen a Jakarta
tower housing the Danish embassy vandalized, clashes between
police and demonstrators, and damage to the Danish and U.S.
consulates in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city.

The protests and threats received against Danish nationals
prompted Copenhagen to urge its citizens to leave Indonesia.

Denmark’s flag has also been burned in numerous cities.

On Thursday, around 200 people belonging to Muslim
Solidarity Indonesia peacefully marched in the Central Java
city of Semarang, condemning the cartoons, according to local
news radio.

The protesters urged the Indonesian government to cut
diplomatic relations with Denmark and boycott Danish products.

But as of early afternoon there were no reports of major
protests elsewhere.

More than 85 percent of Indonesia’s 220 million people
follow Islam. Most Indonesian Muslims are moderate but
militancy has grown in recent years.

(With additional reporting by Ade Rina and Achmad
Sukarsono)