Merkel warns against self-censorship after play axed

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against “self-censorship out of fear” yesterday, a day after a leading Berlin opera house decided not to stage a production because of concerns it could provoke Islamic ire.

German leaders widely condemned the Deutsche Oper’s decision not to put on a production of Mozart’s Idomeneo with a scene featuring the severed heads of Jesus, Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed, after Berlin security officials said they could not guarantee the opera house’s security in the event of violent protests.

“We must be careful that we do not increasingly shy away out of fear of violent radicals,” Ms Merkel said. “Self-censorship out of fear is not tolerable.”