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Clinton: Planned Koran Burning a 'Disrespectful Act'

   VOA News 08 September 2010
   Secretary  of  State  Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during an Iftar to
   celebrate  the  Holy  Month  of  Ramadan  at  the  State Department in
   Washington, 07 Sep 2010

Photo: AP

   Secretary  of  State  Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during an Iftar to
   celebrate  the  Holy  Month  of  Ramadan  at  the  State Department in
   Washington, 07 Sep 2010

   U.S.  Secretary  of  State Hillary Clinton has called plans by a small
   Florida evangelical church to burn copies of the Koran on September 11
   a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."
   Her  comments  Tuesday came during a dinner at the State Department to
   observe  Iftar,  the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy
   month of Ramadan.
   The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus
   and  NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen have warned that the
   planned  torching  of the Muslim holy book by the 50-member Dove World
   Outreach Center could endanger Western troops.
   The church's pastor, Terry Jones, says he takes seriously the warnings
   about  possible  violence  against Americans abroad.  Jones, however,
   says  he  and  his followers have made up their minds to go ahead with
   the  protest,  which  would coincide with the ninth anniversary of the
   terrorist attacks against the United States.
   New  York  City  Mayor  Michael  Bloomberg said Tuesday he defends the
   church's  right  to  burn  the books.  He said that while he finds it
   distasteful,  the  First  Amendment  of the U.S. Constitution protects
   even unpopular speech.
   The  dispute  comes  at  a time of already heated debate in the United
   States  over a proposal to build a mosque and cultural center near the
   site  in New York of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade
   Center.   Bloomberg  has been an outspoken advocate of the center. Â
   Â
   General  Petraeus said Tuesday the Koran burning could be exploited by
   the Taliban for propaganda purposes.
   The  NATO  Secretary-General  said  during  a  visit to Washington the
   burning  of  Korans is in strong contradiction "with all the values we
   stand for and fight for."
   Administration  officials say the Florida pastor and his followers are
   within  their  constitutional  rights  to  burn  a Koran, just as U.S.
   anti-war  protesters  have  burned American flags at demonstrations in
   the past.
   The  Florida church has been denied a local government permit to set a
   fire  for  the  burning  of  the  Korans, but vows to go ahead with it
   anyway. Â
   The  planned  burning has also sparked protests in the Afghan capital,
   Kabul,  where  protesters  Monday  chanted  "Death to America" as they
   rallied  outside a mosque.  Iran has warned the planned Koran burning
   could lead to uncontrolled emotions in Muslim countries.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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