Cartoon and film stir more Afghan protests

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hundreds of Afghan protesters burned the Dutch and Danish flags yesterday and demanded that their troops leave Afghanistan in the latest outcry against the reprinting of a cartoon of Muhammad in Denmark and a forthcoming Dutch film criticizing the Quran.

The United Nations called for a peaceful dialogue to overcome the animosity caused by the cartoon and film. And in Paris, the Netherlands' prime minister said his government was concerned that the film,

Fitna

, made by a right-wing Dutch lawmaker, could cause social strife.

More than 300 people gathered in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Afghanistan's central Logar province, for a demonstration organized by students, said Abdul Majid Latifi, deputy provincial police chief.

Local elders and villagers joined the protest, burning the Danish and Dutch flags and urging President Hamid Karzai to issue a statement of condemnation, said Mohammad Shafiq Popal, head of the Logar youth and students association.

"We demand that the government kick the Dutch and Danish troops out of Afghanistan because they are the puppets of Christianity," Popal said.

In Nangarhar province, about 20 local elected officials protested, and demanded the removal of the two countries' forces from Afghanistan.

Last month, in a gesture of solidarity, Denmark's leading newspapers reprinted a cartoon of Muhammad after Danish police said they had uncovered a plot to kill the artist, whose drawing was one of 12 cartoons that sparked deadly riots across the Muslim world in 2006.

The reprinting triggered a new wave of protests in Islamic countries in recent weeks.

The protesters were also angered by the forthcoming 15-minute film by filmmaker Geert Wilders, who heads the Netherlands' right-wing Freedom Party. Wilders has said his movie portrays Islam's holy book as a "fascist" text.

Aleem Siddique, spokesman for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, pressed for calm in resolving the situation.

Siddique told reporters in Kabul: "We believe in the importance of overcoming misunderstandings and animosities between people of different beliefs and cultural traditions through peaceful dialogue and mutual respect."

"It is vital that we recognize that the actions of one cartoonist and one filmmaker do not characterize or reflect the overarching nature of international engagement with Afghanistan and its government," Siddique said.

Afghanistan is a Muslim nation where criticism of Muhammad and the Quran is a crime that carries a death sentence.

More than 200 Afghan lawmakers gathered Tuesday at the parliament, shouting "Death to the enemies of Islam" and urging the Danish and Dutch governments to prevent blasphemy against Islam.

On Sunday, clerics and Islamic students burned the Danish and Dutch flags in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and demanded that the government shut the two countries' embassies in Kabul.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said yesterday that the views expressed in

Fitna

did not reflect those of his government. Balkenede spoke on a visit to France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy offered his support to the Dutch government in its struggle to limit fallout in the Muslim world from the as yet unreleased movie.

The Dutch government has urged Wilders to voluntarily scrap his film for the sake of Dutch national interests and the safety of its citizens abroad. Wilders has scorned the plea and accused the government of capitulation. He said earlier this week that he had begun negotiations with Dutch broadcasters about airing

Fitna

.