The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and his Norwegian colleague Jonas Gahr Stoere hosted a seminar September 25 at the international Peace Institute in new York with the topic “the State of Freedom of Expression: Access to Information as a driver of Social Development”, which Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda participated in.
The discussions touched the conditions for freedom of expression, violence and threats towards journalists and human right watchers, as well as the benefit and challenges of the new information technology.
The importance of a good dialog to reduce the tensions and misunderstandings when people from different cultures meets where highlighted by Carl Bildt. The discussion touch the misunderstandings and tensions that come up after the publications of the Mohammed caricature in Danish press, and the complex of problems when freedom of speech needs to be weighted against respect for religions.
The Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda participated in the seminar and discussed the importance of that western journalists try to understand the consequence of publications as the Mohammed caricature in Muslim countries.
