THE WITCH HUNT OF PRESIDENT MACRON AND HIS TEAM ON THE FRENCH MUSLIM COMMUNITY
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
This is the limit!Since the bizarre beheading of the French middle schoolteacher Samuel Patyby an 18 years old Chechen muslim, Abdoullakh Abouyedovich Anzorov [whowas killed by the police], because of showing his students the Charlie Hebdo 2012 Muhammad cartoons, followed by the stabbing of three Church visitors in aChurch in Nice by a 21 Tunesian suspect, two very tragic events, all Hell broke out in France.Because the [re]actions of the French government were a de facto declaration of war to muslims, not only in France, but also international.Immediately after the news broke out about the beheading of the school teacher, the French government got bananas.The first bizarre action was the showing of the offending Charlie Hebdo Muhammad cartoons, hanging from French government buildings, violating article 1 of the French Constitution, stating equality and respect for everyone regardless descent, race or religion, as respect for all religions.Although the showing of the cartoons pretended to be in the name of”freedom ofopinion”, the French government knew full well, that many muslims, asIslamic countries, would consider it as a declaration of war.Again, a for muslims holy symbol as the Prophet Muhammed was shownon a disrespectful way, this time by a ”neutral” government.To add insult to injury, president Macron stated, that ”France will not giveup cartoons” in a homage to the beheaded school teacher.Do then the muslims in France not belong to France?No wonder some islamic countries started a boycott against French products.The third action of the French government was the more discriminatory:Minister of Internal Affairs Damartin announced the prohibition of a numberof islamic organisations, being ”enemies of the Republic”, withoutany given proof or connection with any terrorist attack, thus alienating the majority of peaceful muslims in France.An example of Damartin’s witch hunt is the CCIF, a collective that fights Islamophobia in France.The intention is also the deportation of illegal refugees, who received thelabel ”muslimextremists” without any proof of involvement with any terroristattack.In my view as the view of International Law, this is a ”collective punishment” This is no State policy anymore, but a ruthless witch hunt, which has nothing to do with democracy, but with a police State.Especially in those times, dangerous for France, the French government should connect, not polarize.
Astrid EssedAmsterdamThe Netherlands