U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday he's seen no evidence to prove the U.S. allegation that Syria and Iran have roiled anti-Western demonstrations over cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Still, Annan said, those two, just like all other countries, should have prevented rioters from attacking foreign diplomatic missions.
"The government has a responsibility to prevent these things from happening," he said.
Had they not been able to do that, Annan said, "They should be prepared to pay for the damage done to Danish, Norwegian and the other embassies concerned."
Iran, Syria, Lebanon and the rest of the countries where European embassies were attacked should pay compensation. The principle of paying compensation should be activated as a prime solution for any damage caused by illegal actions, whether these actions were small spontaneous mobs or big planned occupations.
