First Published 2010-06-16
Courtesy Of "Middle-East-Online"
Prejudice Against French Muslims
STRASBOURG - Racial profiling and some politicians exploiting racial and xenophobic stereotypes persist in France despite progress in fighting discrimination, a Council of Europe report said Tuesday.
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) issued its fourth report on France with positive comments on the country's High Authority against Discrimination and for Equality (HALDE) for "its key and growing role in the fight against racism".
However, "while there had been improvements in certain areas, some issues gave rise for concern, such as minorities' perception of the police, prejudice against Muslims and the tone of the immigration debate," said Nils Muiznieks, chair of ECRI, the Council's independent human rights body.
Many racial acts go unreported and for those that are referred to authorities there is a low conviction rate, the report said.
"The police frequently resort to racial profiling and take law enforcement decisions on the basis of racial, ethnic or religious stereotypes" rather than individual behaviour, it said.
In the political arena, the report noted that most politicians condemn openly racial comments and race-related acts, but that there are some who exploit the issue. In relation to immigration, "there is widespread suspicion that non-citizens engage in fraud to obtain residence permits and access to rights," the report said.
Regarding Muslims, part of French society doubts their willingness and ability to "respect French values".
"The debate on the prohibition of the niqab (the face-covering veil) has increased feelings of discrimination among Muslims and may result in further excluding some Muslim women from society," the report said about the government's considering a ban on Muslim women wearing the full veil in public.
Problems of discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, nationality or ethnic origin persists in access to employment, education, housing, and goods and services, the report added.
In its response to the report, France stressed that the number of reported racially-motivated acts had increased in recent years. And regarding racial profiling, particularly among young people, France said that "ethnic appearance has nothing to do in the fight against delinquency and it is of no consequence in the (police) decision to check this or that person", it said.
The ECRI's recommendations included that France consult and take on board HALDE's recommendations and that it step up the fight against racist comments on the Internet, informing the public that such incitement to racial hatred can be reported to authorities.
Paris Bans Pork-and-Wine Street Party
Paris police on Tuesday banned a controversial "pork sausage and wine" street party planned by extremist groups to combat what they saw as the "Islamisation" of a city neighbourhood.
The event was planned for Friday evening at a time when the district's streets are usually jammed with Muslims coming out of mosques and just before Algeria were due to play England in the football World Cup.
But police banned the event and any rival gatherings in the Goutte d'Or area of northern Paris' 18th arrondissement, or district, saying in a statement that it was likely to cause "serious risks to public order."
The plan had sparked outrage from politicians and anti-racism groups who said it was blatantly racist and could lead to violence on the streets.
The controversy comes after a government-sponsored debate on national identity earlier this year spotlighted anxieties about the integration of France's six million Muslims.
The Goutte d'Or party, or "apero geant" as it was called in French, was a new and politically-charged take on a growing trend in France for huge open-air drinks parties.
Many of them have been banned because authorities fear mass drunkenness.
The original idea for the Goutte d'Or gathering apparently came from a local woman who told French radio about her Facebook page that announced the event to fight against what she saw as the increasing "Islamisation" of her area.
The woman told Liberation newspaper that she no longer felt at home in the neighbourhood where she had lived all her life.
Her party idea urged revellers to bring along a bottle of wine and a "saucisson", the sliced, cold sausage that is a staple of traditional French before-dinner drinks.
But the plan was then taken up by far-right and far-left extremist groups who publicised it on other Internet sites.
One of these groups, Riposte Laique (Secular Response), which presents itself as a far-left anti-religious group, said the street party was meant to be a "festive" response to the "fascist-Islamist offensive in France".
The group's founder Pierre Cassen told i-Tele news channel that "religious militia were occupying the public space" in many streets in the Goutte d'Or area.
The run-down district is dominated by people of north African and sub-Saharan African origin, and its mosques are so full on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayers, that many believers end up praying on the streets outside.
The street party was scheduled to be held on Rue Myrha, where there is a mosque.
A French government minister of Algerian descent, Fadela Amara, on Tuesday condemned the planned party as "hateful, racist and xenophobic".
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe for his part voiced concern that the drinks party could turn violent, while the head of the main Paris mosque located in another area invited the faithful to attend prayers there to avoid clashes.
A rival group on Facebook had set up a "halal and mint tea" party in response to the pork and wine event.
The deputy leader of France's far-right National Front party, Marine Le Pen, slammed the ban on the event, saying "the French state has capitulated once again".
SOS Racisme had called for the event scheduled for Friday to be banned because it sent out a "message of hate and of violence towards groups of people because of their real or supposed origins."
The opposition Communist Party said in a statement that "this disgusting joke seeks to exacerbate the differences that make for the richness of the 18th arrondissement (district)."
No comments:
Post a Comment