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“I’M NOT SCARED OF DAVID CAMERON”
ISSUE 805 FEBRUARY 13 2006
CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY free word - EST. 1972
Quench goes skyscraper with a special edition dedicated to New York
PULP CENTRE PAGES
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FRICTION
PHOTOS: James Perou
Sir Menzies Campbell at the Union: Better late than never? Full story Page 4
KATILEUA ME
! Thousands of copies pulped ! Students suspended over cartoon cock-up ! Islamic Society speaks out ! Editor apologises By Will Dean Deputy Editor
EXCLUSIVE
Interview Page 12
GAIR RHYDD’S editor and two other journalists were suspended from the union on Monday. On Saturday afternoon a decision was also made to recall and pulp all copies of Issue 804 of the newspaper. The call came after a small world news story on page six of last week’s edition of the paper featured one of the controversial Danish cartoons depicting
the Prophet Mohammed. gair rhydd was the first British publication to print the cartoons which have caused huge unrest since their initial publication in Denmark’s JyllandsPosten on September 30 last year. Although the paper went to press on the morning before demonstrations against the cartoons in London, mainstream UK newspapers had already taken the decision not to publish the infamous images. The gair rhydd offices in the stu-
T
he gair rhydd admits that the reproduction of one of the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in our most recent edition was a naïve and ill-considered course of action which caused needless offence to Muslim students and members of the community alike. The cartoon, which appeared on page six, was not reproduced as part of some frivolous defence of freedom of speech, but was a genuine mistake on our part which arose from a desire to give context to a small and balanced World News piece reporting the developing international situation surrounding the cartoons. Following the paper’s print deadline on Thursday February 2, the international situation, as you will all now be well aware, changed quickly and beyond all recognition. This recent episode in the history of the gair rhydd does not reflect the intentions or beliefs of the editorial team or the hard work and effort which goes into the paper each week. We can only apologise once again for causing offence. To this end, we would welcome any written contributions from students or the local community in order to help us understand the issues behind the events which have been taking place on the global stage over the last few days. We apologise for the harm we recognise we have caused. Tom Wellingham gair rhydd Editor
Editorial Page 6 dents’ union were also closed as a precautionary measure. The decision to publish the cartoon was widely condemned by local Muslim groups. Cardiff University’s Islamic Society issued a statement saying: “The right to express one’s opinion is a valued gift that should be exercised responsibly and maturely, taking into account the equal right of the sanctity and beliefs of others to be respected.
“The decision to publish the images was insensitive and totally unacceptable, serving only to intensify feelings of frustration that exist in the Muslim community.” Editor Tom Wellingham told gair rhydd: “We deeply, deeply regret any offence caused. We fully acknowledge it was a mistake to do so, and we realise it reflects badly upon us as a student newspaper. Everyone from gair rhydd is looking forward to putting this episode behind us.”
THE VIEW FROM CARDIFF UNIVERSITY ISLAMIC SOCIETY PAGE 2