No Bin Laden Threat for Estonia

TALLINN - The Estonian Security Policeforesees no immediate danger for Estonia in an EU threat made Wednesday by Osamabin Laden.

"As the threat was intended for the whole European Union, pertaining to all residents of EU membercountries, including Estonia, the Security Police willcertainly not leave it unnoticed. But we do not currentlyforecast increase of the threat of terror in Estonia,"Security Police commissar Andres Kahar told BNS.

He said the Security Police Board continued meaningfulactivity in the prevention of terrorist acts.

In an audio address published in the Internet on Wednesday, Osama bin Laden threatened the European Unionwith a punishment for the publication of cartoons of theProphet Muhammad.

Bin Laden underlined that the publication of cartoons of the prophet was a much more severe crime than the combined miltary action by Western forces thusfar.

Bin Laden went on to accuse thepope of taking part in a crusade against the Islamic world.

The threat was published by an Islamic extremist website that has hosted bin Laden's messages before.

The cartoons of the prophet were originally published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in the Fall of2005. This February many Danish papers republished thecartoons to protest against plans to murder the author ofthe cartoons.