One internet provider removes anti-Islam film

Mar 29, 2008, 14:20 GMT

Amsterdam - Dutch internet provider LiveLeak has removed a controversial anti-Islam film from its website, it was reported on Saturday.

The 16-minute film, Fitna (the split between believers and infidels), by Dutch opposition legislator Geert Wilders, was removed late Friday after its publication the previous day sparked heavy criticism at home and abroad.

Wilders' Freedom party is running on a platform of harsh criticism of Islam and migrants.

Fitna reinforces Wilders' previous statements that the Dutch should fear what he calls the 'Islamization of the Netherlands.'

In a statement published on www.liveleak.com, the internet provider said, 'Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, LiveLeak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.'

LiveLeak says it is a 'sad day for freedom of speech on the net.'

Fitna can still be watched on the internet. The Freedom Party website, www.pvv.nl, has two links to the film. It can also be viewed at the website of a Dutch current affairs programme, www.novatv.nl.

Meanwhile Wilders has praised Dutch Muslims for their 'mature response' to his film.

The vast majority of Dutch Muslim organizations reacted relatively mildly to Fitna. All of them said they would be happy to enter into a debate with Wilders to discuss the problems of radical Islam.

Wilders said the Dutch Muslims' reaction was wiser and spoke of more leadership than that of the entire Dutch government, and particularly Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, in the weeks running up to Fitna's release.

Refraining from calling upon Wilders not to release his film, Balkenende and several other cabinet ministers repeatedly emphasized that Wilders had to 'take responsibility' for the potentially far- reaching implications of his film for the safety of Dutch lives abroad.

The prime minister also said Wilders' film might damage Dutch business abroad, a statement he confirmed again on Friday.