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Kenyan Newspaper Decries "Unnecessary" Death of Anti-Cartoon Demo Protester

Posted on: Sunday, 12 February 2006, 06:00 CST

Text of editorial entitled "Hold peaceful demonstrations" by Kenyan newspaper The People on Sunday on 12 February

It is unfortunate that what was meant to be a peaceful protest against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper turned tragic. Kenyan Muslims in Nairobi had pledged to restrain themselves from emotions that have provoked weeks of fury in the Muslim world. And all was well until a section of protesters decided to march to the Danish mission in Westlands [Nairobi suburb].

While the [Danish] newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, has stood by the decision to publish the caricatures, citing freedom of the press and refused to apologize for the drawings, which were seen by many Muslims as blasphemous, there is no doubt that the widespread protests, boycotts of Danish goods and the burning of Danish diplomatic missions in the Middle East have provided a costly lesson.

We stand for the freedom of the media and expression. We also stand for [the] right to protest peacefully. These are rights that are provided for in our constitution and that is why the police allowed Muslim faithful to protest as long as they adhere to the law.

However, these freedoms must be enjoyed responsibly. While the protests are a show of the thin line between freedom and tolerance, it is obvious that had the protesters held back emotion, the confrontation with police would not have occurred.

It is, therefore, imperative that organizers of any demonstration take the responsibility of controlling protesters to avoid unnecessary loss of life and damage to property failure to which they will give authorities no option but fail to permit them.

Source: BBC Monitoring Africa

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