Prize for Muhammad cartoonist superfluous

The award of a journalism prize to cartoonist Kurt Westergaard on Wednesday in Berlin can be justified in relation to fundamental liberties, as can the construction of an Islamic centre at Ground Zero or the planned Koran burning by a pastor in Florida, writes the business daily Hospodářské noviny. But that doesn't mean such things are reasonable or right, the paper notes: "The tribute for Westergaard by German Chancellor Merkel was a superfluous gesture. It was unnecessary for Germany and Europe, where no one has to be convinced that they stand for the principles of Western democracy. But it was also needless for the other side, where Merkel's tribute will be read as a message from the West: Your taking offence doesn't interest us in the least."

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