porn cccp

too much freedom of speech is not good and it will just lead to bigotry and arrogance. in return chaos will be Nth times more. shame on them!

ANDY HOFFMAN

With files from Associated Press

Less than three weeks ago, the Middle East was a
thriving market worth almost half a billion dollars in annual sales for Denmark’s Arla Foods Group. Now, the milk and cheese producer has all but given up on its biggest regional customer outside of Europe.

The boycott of Danish goods by Muslim countries is
costing Arla $1.8-million a day, and the company says there is little it can do other than encourage
political dialogue between its country and the Muslim world. Even if the boycott is eventually lifted, Arla fears the damage may be irreversible.

“For Arla, it’s going to take a huge amount of effort and resources to rebuild whatever we can of what there once was,” communications director Astrid Gade Nielsen said in an interview from Aarhus, Denmark, yesterday.

“This is going to be an extremely long process.”

Among Denmark’s corporations, Arla has been the
hardest hit by the boycott sparked by the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper in September.

The cartoons were recently reprinted in several
European publications, prompting Saudi Arabia to
boycott Danish goods on Jan. 26.

The protest soon spread across the Middle East and
Arla’s cheese and dairy products have been pulled from supermarket shelves across the region.

“We have experienced a total boycott in the Middle
East, meaning we sell no products whatsoever,” Ms.
Gade Nielsen said.

The company, which is Europe’s second-largest dairy
producer, has been forced to cut 125 jobs and reduce the work hours of another 40 staff members. Arla is Denmark’s biggest exporter to the Middle East, accounting for more than a third of Danish sales to the area. Revenue from sales to the Middle East accounts for about 8 per cent of Arla’s annual sales of $8.8-billion.

“It is a severe blow to the company. We’ve been in the Middle East for 40 years. It’s a region we believe in,” she said. “Forty years it took to build it up and in five days it has gone to waste.”

The co-operative, owned by about 11,600 milk producers in Denmark and Sweden, published ads in Saudi Arabian newspapers last week, but the campaign had little effect. Now Arla is simply trying to keep up relations with retailer customers, suppliers and distributors in
the region where it employs about 1,000 people.

“We believe that we can lean against the partners we have in the Middle East,” Ms. Gade Nielsen said.
“These are long-term relationships and they appreciate the fact that we’re not part of this. They are, just like we are, interested in picking up business again. Hopefully through these people we will be able to regain a foothold.”

Arla is also encouraging discussions between Danish
and Muslim political leaders in the hope of brokering an end to the ban on Danish products.

Steen Bocian, a chief analyst with Danske Bank, said Danish goods are threatened in 20 Muslim countries, representing $1.6-billion (U.S.) annually.

In 2004, Denmark’s exports worldwide amounted to
$73-billion, with 25 per cent of that from dairy
products, he said.

“We’re caught in the middle and it’s not our doing,” Ms. Gade Nielsen said. “It’s not something we can really get involved in because it’s politics and it’s a discussion of religion. We are a dairy company.”

Ms. Gade Nielsen said Arla has been particularly
vulnerable because its consumer products are branded with the company’s name. She expects to conduct focus groups with Arab consumers when and if the boycott ends. Arla will then work to address consumers’ concerns. She also expects the Danish government will reach out to Muslim countries with its own public relations campaign.

“I would think we as a Danish society would need some sort of repositioning of Denmark in the Middle East. We have lost a lot of credibility and sympathy as a people and as a nation. I believe together the Danish industry and the Danish government need to do some sort of campaign,” she said.

Other well-known Danish corporations are reporting
little impact on their businesses so far. High-end
electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen has noticed no measurable effect on recent sales, according to
spokesman, Thomas Reil.

“Our sales in the Middle East are very minor compared to Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.

Danish tour operators, meanwhile, have cancelled trips to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia following warnings by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging people to avoid countries that are predominantly Muslim.

Denmark’s week-long winter school holiday starts on
Friday and tour operators have already started
reimbursing people for trip reservations and holiday bookings in the Middle East, said Stig Elling of Star Tours.

“We’re talking about millions,” said Lars Thykier of the Danish Travel Association, adding that resorts in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia also were losing money because Danish tourists are staying away.