Refocusing Public Attention away from the Freedom of Expression Issue

The Danish prime minister is a master of spin.

Public broadcaster DR has cooperated with the left-wing political party the Unity List, the Red-Green Alliance, about producing evidence for the film "The Secret War" by Guldbrandsen, the daily The Avisen writes. In the film it is claimed that Danish soldiers in Afghanistan on a number of occasions have delivered prisoners to American camps where they have been tortured. The Unity list parliamentarian Fran Aaen has tried to force information out of the Danish military by questioning the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister in the questioning hour in the Danish Folketinget's (parliament) questioning hour.

And so fucking what? we're tempted to ask. What is the crux of this whole matter? And what has the Prime minister accomplished by changing focus away from torture and to the way the DR public broadcaster has dealt with the matter? By attacking the media, the prime minister is directing a fullfledged attack at not only the media, but freedom of expression as well.

The DR has not only a right - but a duty as a public broadcaster to inform the public of what is going on in Afghanistan. - And for that purpose they've bought a film from a private direction and shown it on prime time TV.

It is also not uncommon to cooperate with politicians to get relevant information. Anybody knows how difficult it is to get information from military personel in such matters.

Doesn't the public have a right to be informed? Tax-payers money is spent on such military expeditions. Cititzens hence have every right to be informed. The prime minister should be ashamed that he tries to stop the free flow of information. That's not worthy of a democracy - and especially not when we remember how the same PM boasted of his defence of freedom of expression during the Mohammed cartoons crisis a year ago!!