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Over the past month, news bulletins have been dominated by coverage of the dramatic fallout from the controversial publication - initially by a Danish newspaper - of 12 cartoons, including caricatures of Prophet Mohammad. The circumstances surrounding the publication and successive re-publications of the cartoons, as well as the ensuing wave of protests, threats, violence and diplomatic manoeuvring, have been widely reported and will not be rehearsed again here. The focus will instead be on the international reaction to events, as exemplified by a selection of formal statements issued by a number...

A number of provisions concerning the (audiovisual) media can be found in the five country-specific Resolutions adopted to date by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers (CM) in the context of the Second Monitoring Cycle of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM). In respect of Croatia, the CM recommends that the State authorities inter alia “encourage media engagement in the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue”. In respect of Denmark, the CM identifies as an issue of concern a “seam of intolerance within Danish society […] inter alia, in the political...

The Turkish Embassy in Denmark has on 12 January 2005 lodged a complaint against ROJ TV, a Kurdish satellite television channel registered in Denmark, before the Danish Radio- og TV-Nævnet (Radio and Television Board). The Turkish embassy asserts firstly that ROJ TV has maintained relations with illegal organisations and persons, secondly that it has violated sections 114 and 114 a-d of the Danish Criminal Code, thirdly that it has maintained relations with organisations registered on the EU terror list, and that it has violated the Bekendtgørelse nr. 1174 af 17.12.2002 om radio- og fjernsynsvirksomhed...

By its Decision of 19 May 2004 the European Commission required the Danish broadcaster TV2/Danmark A/S (known as TV2) to pay back to the Danish State EUR 84.4 million (DKK 628.2 million) which amount was considered to have been granted as illegal State support to TV2 (see IRIS 2004-7: 4). In July 2004 the Danish government and TV2 appealed the Commission Decision before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (see IRIS 2004-8: 3). Despite contesting the alleged illegality of the amount granted by the State, TV2 has complied with the Decision by setting up a recapitalisation plan...

On 1 January 2005, Act No 1437/2004 amending the Danish Broadcasting Act entered into force. The Act amends the provisions regarding political advertising in order to ensure accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. Television advertising has been permitted in Denmark since 1986, with Article 76, Section 3 of the Broadcasting Act stating: "Advertisements for employers' organisations or trade unions or for religious movements or political parties are not allowed on television". However, Act No 439/2003 significantly expanded the scope of the prohibition as the wording "political parties"...