ORF: Minister Plassnik, there was a demonstration, some disruption, in front of the Austrian Embassy in Teheran today. The Foreign Ministry has issued warnings for quite a number of Islamic countries. Have concrete threats been made against Austrian facilities?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: There have been no concrete threats made against Austrian facilities. Austria, which holds the Presidency of the European Union, is making every effort to ensure the protection of European citizens in all countries. We are engaged in active diplomacy in the countries in which there have been difficulties, attacks, and we have spoken decisively here, as there must be clarity on this issue. And we have taken what you might call preventive measures by contacting through our embassies the governments of those countries, and we expect them to guarantee the protection and security of our European citizens. They are also under the obligation of international law, and in the name of the EU we have reminded them most emphatically of these obligations.
ORF: We have received a lot of e-mails. I assume that the Foreign Ministry is dealing with questions from Austrians as to whether they can go on holiday in an Islamic country in the next few weeks.
Foreign Minister Plassnik: The best advice I can give on this issue is to consult the homepage of the Foreign Ministry. We are observing the situation closely and are responding to the latest events in each country. Our homepage provides information and warnings if necessary.
ORF: We have heard that the demonstrations in Teheran targeted Austria, holder of the EU Presidency. But these cartoons were also published in a couple of Austrian newspapers, as in other countries. What are your views on this?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: It is not my place to pass judgement as to who should or should not have printed what. My job is to deal with the consequences of these events. Of primary importance is to make the European point of view clear and to maintain contact between our friends in the Muslim world and the European partners. We are doing that, and we are working towards defusing the language being used, and of course to put an end to the violence. That is our first goal. We are being careful in how we address these very sensitive issues. This is what we have previously seen in the reporting.
ORF: Because you mentioned that you were being “careful”: Is it true that the Foreign Ministry had appealed to the Austrian media not to print these cartoons?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: We don’t have any influence there, legally we can’t do anything. I didn't make any calls to the media, but we have seen in the past few days how difficult the situation is, how the religious sentiments of people in Austria and other European countries have been offended. That is one side of the issue. The other side is that freedom of expression is a main principle of our community. I have repeatedly emphasised this in discussions with our Muslim partners around the world. It is not up to governments to exercise any form of censorship. However, Mr Wolf, personally I consider part of freedom to be a refined sense of responsibility when dealing with others.
ORF: Many Muslims, and many Muslim governments and politicians, are calling for the governments of European countries in which the cartoons have appeared to apologise. Would you apologise for the three Austrian daily newspapers that have printed these cartoons?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: I have made it clear in my contacts that as regards the EU and Austria, freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our societies, a principle worth protecting, and that from a legal point of view, it is ultimately up to the independent courts to address this issue, and it is not the place of the governments to act as a censor. That is a legal and societal matter. However, I have made clear to our Arab and Muslim partners that we well understand that the religious sentiments of many people have obviously been offended. It is a very delicate and challenging job to find the balance between these two principles. This is something we have to do every day in Austria, in Europe, and throughout the world. Violence does not help.
ORF: Many observers have the impression that the EU has been very reserved in its reaction to these acts of violence. For example, the EU Foreign Ministers have not held a special session. The political leaders and officials were assembled. In a situation like this, why have the Foreign Ministers not met in a demonstration of European solidarity?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: We already expressed our solidarity with Denmark last Monday at the Council meeting. We discussed this subject, we are in constant contact with each other and at the moment we have no reason for special activity in this area. We share a single opinion that we represent in our outside dealings. But we have no reason at all to come to an agreement on a special procedure. If there is agreement among the 25, Austria, which holds the EU Presidency, will of course fulfil its obligations.
ORF: Last question: What is your opinion on these cartoons?
Foreign Minister Plassnik: Once again, I think that freedom of expression is a basic right in our societies that has been hard fought, and must be exercised even from the point of view of responsibility for others, for one's own self and for others. In this sense, each individual must really make a judgement on how to deal with these issues.
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