United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday spoke out against the recent publication in a Danish newspaper of a political cartoon that was characterized as being disrespectful towards Islam. The Secretary-General "believes that the freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious belief and tenets of all religions," said Stephane Dujarric, U.N. Spokesman. Annan's remarks refer to the recent furor over caricatures of the prophet Mohammad (May peace be upon him) in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper.