The Jakarta Post

The bad cat is already out of the bag

Tue, 04/08/2008 11:52 AM

I refer to Wilders feeling proud of himself (is he stupid, or deliberately so?) for producing the anti-Islam film Fitna (The Jakarta Post, March 31) and Dutch ambassador Nikolaos Van Dam's public apology (the Post April 2).

But as usual it is too late as the bad Dutch cat is already out of the bag, with the Dutch government unable and helpless to stop this film from being broadcast worldwide on internet.

Congratulations to Wilders for endangering the lives of Dutch citizens who work and live in Muslim countries, and for hurting the Dutch economy as several Muslim countries plan to boycott Dutch products.

Soon Dutch companies will be asked to stop operating in Muslim countries. Although there is a law against racial and religious discrimination in Holland, this film clearly violates it, and encourages its citizens to take a hostile stance against Islam.

Religion has been a touchy subject ever since humans became believers of a certain preferable religion. Wilders clearly thinks only of himself and his political ambitions without any thought to his fellow countrymen working in Muslim countries.

Sorry Van Dam, the damage is done and it will take a superhuman, king-sized effort to rectify this delicate, sensitive and damaged religious situation. In this case, freedom of speech is a poor excuse.

LYNNA VAN DER ZEE-OEHMKE
Bogor, West Java

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