Democracy & Freedom

The release of the controversial film Fitna, which attacks Islam’s holy book, the Quran, has brought new attention to the debate over the right of free expression and how that right can be manipulated to insult communities and inflame tensions. Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Bert Koenders argues that dialogue and debate urgently are needed between moderates on both sides to prevent extremists from determining relations between Islamic and Western societies. In remarks at the Brookings Institution in Washington April 11, Koenders said the distribution of films such as Fitna, by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, puts to the test fundamental democratic principles such as the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. “My government had to take its responsibility [in] standing for the freedom of expression but reconciling it with the need to warn for the repercussions the announcement of this film and its showing could have for our society and elsewhere in the world,” he said.

008: Dutch Film on Quran Highlights Controversy About Free Expression (Apr 22, 2008)

The former communist countries of Central Europe now provide global leadership in Afghanistan and the western Balkans and elsewhere, helping nations transition to free-market democracy, U.S. diplomats say. Central European nations have such “profoundly shared values” with the United States that their European Union membership strengthens their U.S. partnership, rather than being an either/or choice between the EU and the United States, the State Department’s Mark Pekala said during a regional conference in Washington April 2-3. “These countries understand the importance of democracy, the importance of throwing off tyranny, the importance of doing what’s right for people in the construction of democracy and free enterprise,” said Pekala, who is deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. In regional and global missions to promote democracy, Central European countries “provide value-added that the United States can’t provide,” Pekala said a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “These countries have made the transition from tyranny to democracy. They have successfully navigated that path in a way that the United States, of course, hasn’t. And [they] have overcome challenges that we have not had to face,” he said.

2007: Central Europeans Are Leaders in Promoting Democracy, U.S. Says (Apr 5, 2007)

The United States has issued a formal invitation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the November 7, 2006, congressional elections. “The United States supports fully the OSCE’s important work, in particular its election observation efforts in promoting free and fair elections throughout the OSCE community,” Julie Finley, U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, said in a June 29 statement to the Permanent Council in Vienna, Austria. In 1990 in the so-called Copenhagen Document, all OSCE participating states agreed to a standing explicit invitation to observe the course of each state’s national election proceedings.

2006: U.S.-EU Summit Declaration (Jun 21, 2006) | EPP Discusses Transatlantic Relations with State Department Officials (May 31, 2006) | U.S. Seeks Europe's Aid in War on Terror, Justice's Gonzales Says (May 5, 2006) (Remarks) | New Human Rights and Democracy Report Highlights U.S. Efforts (Apr 5, 2006) (Section on Europe & Eurasia) | State's Fried Meets with Belgian Muslim Leaders, EU Officials (Feb 17, 2006) | Turkey's EU Aspirations Can Inspire Muslims, U.S. Diplomat Says (Feb 8, 2006) | U.S. Calls for Restraint, Reason in Wake of Cartoon Controversy (Feb 7, 2006) | State's Volker Discusses Challenges Facing U.S. and EU (Feb 6, 2006) | In State of the Union Speech, Bush Urges U.S. Global Engagement (Jan 31, 2006) | U.S. Working with Europe in Reaching Out to Muslim World (Jan 24, 2006) | State's Fried Says United States, Europe United on Freedom Agenda (Jan 20, 2006)

2005: State's Fried Urges Europe To Support Fully Iraq's New Government (Dec 14, 2005) | State's Burns Praises Trans-Atlantic Security Group (Dec 6, 2005) | Dobriansky Welcomes Democratic Transition Center in Hungary (Nov 9, 2005) | Strong Commitment Can Help Democracy Succeed, State's Fried Says (Aug 29, 2005) | U.S., EU Partners in Promoting Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights (Jun 20, 2005) | Rice, EU Officials Prepare for Upcoming U.S.-EU Summit (Jun 2, 2005) | Bush Calls Baltic Democracies "Models to Every Nation" (May 8, 2005) | Russia, Iran Focus of Briefing on Bush, Schroeder Meeting (Feb 23, 2005) | Diplomacy Can Help Bring Democracy and Reform to Iran, Rice Says (Feb 5, 2005)

2004: Poland is a Bulwark of Democracy in Region, Armitage Says (Sep 17, 2004) | Bush, Blair Describe NATO's New Role: Aiding Freedom, Democracy (Jun 28, 2004) | U.S., Northern Europe Working to Advance Democracy (Apr 22, 2004)