Muslim boycott of Danish goods over-reaction, says Svoboda

The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, has the described a boycott of Danish goods by some Muslim countries as a complete over-reaction to the publication of cartoons of Mohammad in the Danish press. Mr Svoboda said the burning of the flags of European Union states was an attack on values important to Europeans. He made the comments after talks with the European commissioner for trade, Peter Mandelson, who visited Prague on Tuesday. Mr Mandelson called for a sensitive and moderate resolution to the controversy.