Polish foreign minister apologizes for the printing of controversial caricatures

On Saturday, Rzeczpospolita reprinted two of the caricatures, the publishing of which was the cause of serious turmoil and riots in Muslim countries (including the burning of the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Syria). "We decided to publish the caricatures because we are totally against the methods used by Muslims who oppose the publications," explained Rzeczpospolita's editor-in-chief Grzegorz Gauden, adding that, for him, freedom of speech is a value of primary importance. Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, however, decided there are grounds to make an apology. Foreign Affairs Minister Stefan Meller issued a statement saying, "In the name of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Polish government, I would like to ask the followers of Mohammed to forgive us." The governments of France and Denmark are not willing to apologize for the deeds of independent papers though. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1-A3; Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 2, 25) D.W.