NEWS BACKLASH

CartoonBombing of the Dutch Ministry of Justice! 

Hundreds die of laughter!

Many more 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 cartoon to the Dutch Ministry of Justice for their considered approval. 

Other defenders of free speech are asked to send tier cartoons, published or unpublished, on any subject to the following email addresses at the Ministry of Justice in Holland:

Minister Dr. Hirsch Ballin & the Cartoon Police

cartoons to these e-mail addresses: 

 HYPERLINK “mailto:justitie@postbus51.nl” \o “mailto:justitie@postbus51.nl” justitie@postbus51.nl  and  HYPERLINK

“mailto:a.kunst@minjus.nl” \o “mailto:a.kunst@minjus.nl” a.kunst@minjus.nl

 Ask, is your cartoon is to be allowed?

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Sevgili mizahseverler..

Olay gecen hafta „Gregorious Neskschot” adindaki karikaturcunun tutuklanmasi ile basladi. Gozalti surecinde karikaturcu, basina darbeler de almis. Karikaturcunun ne cizdigi cok acik degil. Ancak, musluman ve karaderili insanlara yonelik irkci bir karikatur cizdigi saglikli olmasa da gelen bilgiler arasinda. Ancak, bu karikatucunun gercekten irkci bir sey mi cizdigi, yoksa irkciliga karsi bir sey mi urettigi konusu pek acik degil. Nedeni ne olursa olsun, yine de bu tutuklama, Hollanda hukumetinin Adalet Bakanligi’nda „Karikatur Polisi” diye tanimanan bir bolum kurdugunu ortaya cikartiyor. 2006’dan beri faaliyet gosteren bu birim, karikaturlerinde sahte isim kullanan bu karikaturcunun asil kimliginin ortaya cikmasini da saglamis.

Durum biraz karisik, tam acik degil, ama karikaturculeri, kim olursa olsun yaptiklarini denetleyen, sansur eden bir organin varligi uzucu. Bu yuzden durum biraz daha netlesmeli. Yani bizler, irkci bir karikaturcu yuzunden mi ayaklaniyoruz, yoksa genel cercevede karikaturculerin dusunce ozgurlugunu mu savunuyoruz, belli degil…

Herseye ragmen, yine de Hollanda hukumetinin boyle bir „gizli servis orgutu” olusturmasi cok ciddi bir gelisme ve gelecek icin hic te umut verici degil..  Bu konuda bilgilendikçe gelismeleri aktaracagiz.. Bu konuda sizlerin de konuyla ilgili bilgi, gorus ve yonlendirmenize acik oldugumuzu belirtmekte yarar var.. (DQ)