NEWS BACKLASH Cartoon Bombing of the Dutch Ministry of Justice! Hundreds die of laughter! Freedom of expression buried in the ridiculous.
Following the arrest in Holland of a free lance cartoonist last week, the head of the Federation of Cartoonists Organizations (FECO), the largest cartooning organization in the world, called on cartoonists all over the world so send their cartoons, all their cartoons new and old, to the Dutch Ministry of Justice.
NEWS BACKLASH CartoonBombing of the Dutch Ministry of Justice! Hundreds die of laughter! Freedom of expression buried in the ridiculous. Following the arrest in Holland of a free lance cartoonist last week, the head of the Federation of Cartoonists Organizations (FECO), the largest cartooning organization in the world, called on cartoonists all over the world so send their cartoons, all their cartoons new and old, to the Dutch Ministry of Justice. Since the arrest it has come out that the Dutch Secret Service apparently have a division dedicated to checking all the cartoons being published in the country for their political correctness. Responding to heated complaints from some extremist Muslims, the Dutch police last week arrested cartoonist Gregorious Neskschot (“shot in the back of the neck”) for cartoons considered "offensive to Muslims and other people of dark skin". With his arrest, the Minister of Justice revealed the existence of a heretofore secret working group that has been screening cartoons in Holland since 2006. At the same time, the Minister revealed the cartoonist's identity (Nekschot is a pen name) exposing him to the real possibility of assassination, a long standing threat against cartoonists made by various militant Muslim groups. Dutch film maker, Theo Van Gogh, was stabbed to death in November 2004 for a film that offended some Muslims. Three men were arrested in Denmark earlier this year when a plot to assassinate one of the 12 Danish cartoonists was uncovered by Danish police. The campaign to drown the so-called Cartoon Police of the Ministry of Justice with hundreds and thousands of cartoons from all over the world is the brain child of Dutch cartoonist Peter Nieuwendijk, founder and present Secretary General of FECO. The viscous cartoon bomb attack on the Ministry is now supported by the Dutch Cartoons Association, the Dutch Foundation Pers and Prent (Press & Print), FECO International and Cartoonists Rights Network, International. In a letter to the Minister, dated May 21, 2008, Nieuwendijk factiously asks the Minster to appoint a few of the working group members to sit on an international cartoon competition jury for the Dutch Cartoon Festival of 2009, "in order to alleviate any fear of reprisals and/or uninvited police raids!" Cartoonists Rights Network International asked all of its affiliate organizations around the world to join the fray, encouraging cartoonists to send their cartoons to the Dutch Ministry of Justice for their considered approval. Other cartoonist defenders of free speech are asked to send their cartoons, published or unpublished, on any subject to the following email addresses at the Ministry of Justice in Holland: Ask, “Is my cartoon is to be allowed”? Minister Dr. Hirsch Ballin & the Cartoon Police cartoons to these e-mail addresses:
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The following letter sent by CRNI to the Dutch Ambassador in Washington, DC.
Dear Sir, Our organization represents political cartoonists all over the world who find themselves in trouble because of the power and impact of their work. As you can imagine, after the events of 9/11 and the 12 Danish Cartoons we have been rather busy. It comes as a surprise to find a new client, Mr. Gregorius Nekschot (his pen name) a Dutch citizen arrested and held on charges of “publishing cartoons which are discriminating for Muslims and people with dark skin.” We had no idea there were such laws in the Netherlands. Are there laws against cartoons discriminating against Christians with white skins? If not, why not? Why not just outlaw all political cartoons? Or why doesn’t the Dutch Parliament do away with laughter all together and save everybody the trouble? We thought that of all European countries the Netherlands might have learned from World War II the role that free expression plays in keeping a democracy and a people safe from tyranny, injustice and political repression. For the Minister of Justice to have released the identity of Mr. Nekschot, a journalist, in the face of very real and very serious death threats like that carried out against film director Theo Van Gogh in November 2004 is beyond comprehension. If any harm comes to Mr. Nekschot we would certainly see the Justice Minister as complicit in such action. Please convey to your government our outrage and shock that the government of the Netherlands would pander to threats of violence while appearing so helpless in defending the basic UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 rights of your citizens. At the very least, drop any charges against Mr. Nekschot and stop monitoring cartoons for politically incorrect content. It’s a fool’s errand. Sincerely,
