2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Accuses Syria, Iran of Inflaming Musl

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By Michael Bowman
Washington
08 February 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Syria and Iran have deliberately¹ inflamed³ Muslim passions over cartoons satirizing⁴ the Prophet Muhammad that have sparked massive protests. Condoleezza Rice spoke⁵ in Washington at a joint⁶ news conference with Israel's foreign minister.

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Condoleezza Rice (r) and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni   
  

With demonstrations⁷ continuing in much of the Muslim world, Secretary of State Rice said all governments should be urging calm, but that Syria and Iran are doing the opposite to further political aims.

"There are governments that have used this opportunity to incite⁸ violence," she said. "I do not have any doubt that Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame² sentiments and to use this for their own purposes. And the world ought to call them on it [expose it]."

Protests over the cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper and included an image of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, have led to bloodshed in several countries, most recently in Afghanistan, where police killed four demonstrators. European embassies and diplomatic offices have been torched and vandalized in several Muslim nations.

Secretary Rice said the United States believes in freedom of the press, but added that with that freedom comes responsibility. Regardless of perceived provocation⁹, she said there is no excuse for violence.

"Nothing justifies¹⁰ the violence that has broken out in which many innocent people have been injured," she said. "Nothing justifies the burning of diplomatic facilities or threats to diplomatic facilities around the world. This is a time when everyone should urge calm."

George Bush listens to Jordan's King Abdullah II, left, February 8, 2006  
  
Earlier, following a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, President Bush said he rejected violence as a way to express discontent over what is printed in a free press. King Abdullah echoed Mr. Bush's words, but said the cartoons deserved condemnation¹¹.

At her news conference, Secretary Rice also said that the Palestinians' newly elected Hamas leadership must recognize Israel's right to exist if it expects the backing and support of the international community. Her Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said that, once Hamas forms a government, the Palestinian Authority could be designated a terrorist state if it does not renounce¹² violence and recognize Israel.