Dutch anti-Islam politician to show Muhammad cartoons in TV slotJune 4, 2015 - 08:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders has said he will show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a TV slot allocated to his party, BBC News reports. The cartoons were shown at an event in Texas last month which was attacked by two gunmen. Wilders was a keynote speaker at the event. Wilders says he will show the cartoons because parliament had refused to exhibit them on its premises. Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims. "Terrorists have to realize that they will never win and how important freedom of speech is for us in the Netherlands," Wilders said in a statement. Wilders, who leads the Party for Freedom (PVV), has often expressed his distaste for Islam and mass immigration and has called for the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands. In December 2014 it was announced he would be prosecuted over allegations that he incited racial hatred against the country's Moroccan community. Both the gunmen who attacked the Muhammad Art Exhibit at a conference centre near Dallas on May 3 were shot dead by police. One policeman was injured. The conference included a contest that offered a $10,000 prize for a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. There were widespread protests in 2006 when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad. In January this year, 12 people were murdered by two Islamist gunmen at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published similar cartoons. And a gathering of free speech activists in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, was targeted by a gunman in February. A film director was killed. Photo: AP Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |