NEW DELHI, 19 March 2006 — The six-day visit of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, earlier scheduled from April 2, has been canceled for the time being.
The Indian government yesterday said Rasmussen’s visit to India scheduled for April was postponed as the timing was not ‘optimal’ — a veiled reference to domestic Muslim sentiments over the issue of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) published first by a Danish daily.
“The two sides have found that the proposed timing for the visit was not optimal,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said in a statement.
The two countries are yet to finalize new dates for the visit of Rasmussen.
“India and Denmark look forward to the visit of the Danish prime minister to India at an early date,” Sarna said.
The caricatures of the Prophet that unleashed a wave of anger in the world, have became political fodder for some parties in India, most prominently the Left and the Samajwadi Party who are trying to cash in on Muslim angst against the government for its allegedly pro-US and anti-Iran policies.
The United Progressive Alliance government is caught in a bind, battered as it is by accusations of being callous to Muslim sentiments from the Left-inspired protests as well as charges of appeasement of minorities by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“There was no option but to postpone the Danish PM’s visit. It was a wise and politically correct thing to do,” diplomatic sources said.
The government also pointed to a “new phase” in India-Denmark relations that would focus on economic and political cooperation.
“The Indo-Danish relationship is strong and excellent and is moving into a new phase which is focused on political dialogue and economic cooperation instead of the decades old development cooperation, which was phased out by the end of 2005,” said Sarna.
“The visit of the Danish prime minister will highlight this evolution,” he added.
The new phase of cooperation between the two countries will focus on information and communication technology (ICT), biotechnology, maritime transport, and a treaty on avoidance of double taxation.
India, home to more than 140 million Muslims has witnessed large but peaceful protests across the country against the cartoons.
At least 50 people have been killed in protests elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, three Danish embassies attacked and many Muslims have boycotted Danish goods due to the row.
Islam considers images of the Prophet disrespectful and caricatures blasphemous.
