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French Rights Groups March Against Colonialism Law
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Sarkozy
has added insult to injury by appointing a lawyer who served in the
Israeli army to review the controversial law. (Reuters)
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By
Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent
PARIS,
January 22, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Fifty rights groups have urged
the French to take to the streets on Wednesday, February 25, to
protest a law glorifying French colonialism, as a decision by Interior
Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to assign a lawyer who served in the Israeli
army to re-consider the bill triggered a new controversy.
"We
call for annulling clause 4 of the law, which glorifies French
colonialism, not just amending it as suggested by President Jacques
Chirac," the groups said in a joint statement, a copy of which
was sent to IslamOnline.net.
The
mass rally is organized to mark the first anniversary of the enactment
of the controversial legislation which made it obligatory for teachers
to give favorable gloss to the role of the French presence overseas, a
euphemism for colonialism.
"The
school syllabuses shall recognize in particular the positive role of
the French presence overseas, notably in North Africa, and devotes to
the history and the sacrifice of the soldiers of the French Army
originating from these territories," reads the law.
The
measure had drawn fire from former French colonies, chiefly the North
African republic of Algeria which took the brunt of French
colonialism.
In
December, Algerian lawmakers put forward a new draft law criminalizing
France's colonial era in the Arab country and pressed for trying Paris
for "crimes against humanity."
Israeli
Lawyer
Sarkozy,
a staunch supporter of the controversial law, has added insult to
injury by naming a French-Israeli lawyer to head a special panel
reviewing the pros and cons of the bill.
"Arno
Klarsfeld is not the right man for the job, because he served
in the Israeli occupation army and had a hand in the Israeli crimes
against the Palestinians," the Movement Against Racism and for
Friendship Among Peoples said in a statement.
In
2003, Klarsfeld served as a conscript in an Israeli border guards
unit.
He
is also known for his staunch support for the US-led
invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq.
"Klarsfeld
is an extremist Zionist who cannot lead a committee studying the
impacts of colonialism," agreed the Euro-Palestine group.
It
dismissed his appointment as a "provocation" by Sarkozy.
Earlier
this month, Chirac said the law was "dividing the French"
and ordered the National Assembly speaker to write a new law that will
bring people together.
The
BBC has reported that more than 44,000 people signed a petition to
repeal the law, including Socialist Party lawmaker Victorin Lurel, who
called it a "law of shame."
In
April of 2005, more than 1,000 French intellectuals and historians
signed a petition urging the abolition of the law.
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