Estonian interior minister: comment about media's role in Paris attack was 'inadequate'
Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian minister of the interior, was pounched upon by the media and other politicians for telling a television station that the terror act in Paris, in which 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly's office were allegedly killed by two Islamic terrorists, was prompted by the media's behavior.
In response to a question from a TV3 reporter, Pevkur said: “I will not see an option under which the government will tell media what is suitable for publishing, and what is not."
He then continued: “If we look at the tragic events in France, then these were indeed triggered by the behavior of media outlets, or in relation to them. It is clear that it wasn't just a single cartoon that caused it, but a combination of cartoons published over long time."
“But we don't know the full background,” he added.
On Friday, after Estonian online portal Delfi wrote that Pevkur's opinion put part of the blame for the attacks on the French magazine, the minister attempted to distance himself from his words and explain that they were taken out of context.
On Saturday, uudised.err.ee reported that Pevkur told Eesti Päevaleht daily that his comment had been inadequate, using an Estonian word that means "unsuccessful" in direct translation.
The Interior Ministry had by that time also sent out a statement from Pevkur in which said that he strongly condemned the attack against Charlie Hebdo journalists and would always stand for press freedom, and freedom of speech.
Two Islamic terrorists burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris on Wednesday and killed 12 people, among them eight journalists and two policemen.
Editor: S.Tambur