Michael
Sep 18th 2010, 10:50 AM
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/File-Msc_2009-Saturday_11.00_-_13.00_Uhr-Zwez_008_Sarkosy_new.jpeg
The President of France has been supporting (ie. leading) a campaign to forcibly evict some Roma (aka Gypsies) from France. It is of course a highly contentious issue in itself.
Here's Anmesty International's take on the issue:
France must withdraw Roma eviction order
Amnesty International is urging the French authorities to immediately withdraw the interior ministry order specifying the systematic eviction of Roma illegal camps as a priority.
The Ministry of the Interior order, issued on 5 August and published by the French media over the weekend, provides specific instructions to French police to undertake “a systematic dismantling of illegal camps” prioritising those inhabited by Roma.
“The Ministry of Interior is clearly targeting a particular ethnic group, following the objectives stated by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy that identify ‘illegal camps’ inhabited by Roma as ‘sources’ of criminality," said David Diaz-Jogeix, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia programme.
“Ethnic profiling of this kind has no place in the EU. The withdrawal of these instructions is the first step that the French authorities must take to show they are committed to respect for human rights and not to enforcing discriminatory policies against Roma and Travellers.”
European MPs passed a key resolution on 9 September strongly criticising France and demanding that governments across the continent promote the integration of Roma.
The European Parliament also expressed its deep concern at "the inflammatory and openly discriminatory rhetoric” of the political discourse as well as the measures taken by the French authorities targeting Roma and Travellers".
France has deported around 1,000 Roma to Bulgaria and Romania since August and has been accused by Amnesty International of "stigmatising" both Roma and Travellers communities living in the country.
In response to the European Parliament resolution Eric Besson, the Immigration Minister, insisted that France had not specifically targeted the Roma.
“This order prioritising Roma ‘illegal camps’ for dismantling contradicts earlier claims by the French authorities that France had not taken specific measures against Roma,” said David Diaz-Jogeix.
Source (http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/23683/)
Well, it seems that the issue itself isn't controversial enough - Sarkozy has upped the ante on that account and public invoked the support of German Chancellor Merkel for his policy.
Unfortunately for Sarkozy, Chancellor Merkel has publicly disavowed Sarkozy's claim.
This open disavowal of the French president by the German chancellor is simply flabbergasting. The idea that Sarkozy would simply have invented an exchange with Merkel and that he would have invoked her "total and entire" support without having cleared it with her beggars belief. A president who behaves in this way permanently discredits himself. Plummeting in polls, attacked for human rights violations, chastised by the Pope, sued by Le Monde, and now slapped in the face by Merkel, Sarkozy seems to be coming unhinged, prepared to say anything and do anything to retain his increasingly tenuous hold on power. How long before an open revolt breaks out in his own party?
Source (http://artgoldhammer.blogspot.com/2010/09/astonishing-rebuke.html)
Very interesting development here. I can't think of anything similar on the world's stage where an elected leader of one state makes such an unsupported claim about the elected leader of another [closely allied] state - and gets called out for it. As Goldhammer notes, this is simply flabbergasting.
Sarkozy looks like he's loosing his grasp on reality. :shrug:
The President of France has been supporting (ie. leading) a campaign to forcibly evict some Roma (aka Gypsies) from France. It is of course a highly contentious issue in itself.
Here's Anmesty International's take on the issue:
France must withdraw Roma eviction order
Amnesty International is urging the French authorities to immediately withdraw the interior ministry order specifying the systematic eviction of Roma illegal camps as a priority.
The Ministry of the Interior order, issued on 5 August and published by the French media over the weekend, provides specific instructions to French police to undertake “a systematic dismantling of illegal camps” prioritising those inhabited by Roma.
“The Ministry of Interior is clearly targeting a particular ethnic group, following the objectives stated by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy that identify ‘illegal camps’ inhabited by Roma as ‘sources’ of criminality," said David Diaz-Jogeix, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia programme.
“Ethnic profiling of this kind has no place in the EU. The withdrawal of these instructions is the first step that the French authorities must take to show they are committed to respect for human rights and not to enforcing discriminatory policies against Roma and Travellers.”
European MPs passed a key resolution on 9 September strongly criticising France and demanding that governments across the continent promote the integration of Roma.
The European Parliament also expressed its deep concern at "the inflammatory and openly discriminatory rhetoric” of the political discourse as well as the measures taken by the French authorities targeting Roma and Travellers".
France has deported around 1,000 Roma to Bulgaria and Romania since August and has been accused by Amnesty International of "stigmatising" both Roma and Travellers communities living in the country.
In response to the European Parliament resolution Eric Besson, the Immigration Minister, insisted that France had not specifically targeted the Roma.
“This order prioritising Roma ‘illegal camps’ for dismantling contradicts earlier claims by the French authorities that France had not taken specific measures against Roma,” said David Diaz-Jogeix.
Source (http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/23683/)
Well, it seems that the issue itself isn't controversial enough - Sarkozy has upped the ante on that account and public invoked the support of German Chancellor Merkel for his policy.
Unfortunately for Sarkozy, Chancellor Merkel has publicly disavowed Sarkozy's claim.
This open disavowal of the French president by the German chancellor is simply flabbergasting. The idea that Sarkozy would simply have invented an exchange with Merkel and that he would have invoked her "total and entire" support without having cleared it with her beggars belief. A president who behaves in this way permanently discredits himself. Plummeting in polls, attacked for human rights violations, chastised by the Pope, sued by Le Monde, and now slapped in the face by Merkel, Sarkozy seems to be coming unhinged, prepared to say anything and do anything to retain his increasingly tenuous hold on power. How long before an open revolt breaks out in his own party?
Source (http://artgoldhammer.blogspot.com/2010/09/astonishing-rebuke.html)
Very interesting development here. I can't think of anything similar on the world's stage where an elected leader of one state makes such an unsupported claim about the elected leader of another [closely allied] state - and gets called out for it. As Goldhammer notes, this is simply flabbergasting.
Sarkozy looks like he's loosing his grasp on reality. :shrug: