Tariq Ramadan: 'Double standard of freedom of expression'

Paris policeman’s brother: ‘Islam is a religion of love. My brother was killed by terrorists, by false Muslims’

PUBLIC

By: Emma Graham-Harrison

The Observer, Saturday 10 January 2015 22:37 GMT

Ahmed Merabet was the first police officer at the scene of the Charlie Hebdo attack. He was shot dead in cold blood. Now his brother has appealed for calm

Ahmed Merabet, the police officer gunned down in the Charlie Hebdo attack, was killed in an act of barbarity by “false Muslims” his brother said in a moving tribute on Saturday, where he also appealed for unity and tolerance.

Speaking for a group of relatives gathered in Paris, Malek Merabet said the terrorists who ignored his brother’s plea for mercy as he lay wounded on the street may have shared his Algerian roots, but had nothing else in common.

“My brother was Muslim and he was killed by two terrorists, by two false Muslims,” he said. “Islam is a religion of peace and love. As far as my brother’s death is concerned it was a waste. He was very proud of the name Ahmed Merabet, proud to represent the police and of defending the values of the Republic – liberty, equality, fraternity.”

Malek reminded France that the country faced a battle against extremism, not against its Muslim citizens. “I address myself now to all the racists, Islamophobes and antisemites. One must not confuse extremists with Muslims. Mad people have neither colour or religion,” he said.

“I want to make another point: don’t tar everybody with the same brush, don’t burn mosques – or synagogues. You are attacking people. It won’t bring our dead back and it won’t appease the families.”

His brief speech was a moving tribute to the slain officer, loved as a son, brother, companion and uncle, but also a powerful call for harmony.

There has been a rising tide of Islamophobia in France following the Paris killings, including a grenade attack on one mosque, an explosion in a kebab shop beside a mosque and gunfire at a Muslim family in a car, although there have been no casualties.

Merabet’s death was captured in a graphic video, as he was wounded by one of the two attackers and then shot in the head in cold blood. He is shot in the groin, then falls to the pavement groaning in pain and holding up an arm as though to protect himself.

The second gunman moves forward and asks the policeman: “Do you want to kill us?” Merabet replies: “No, it’s OK mate,” but the terrorist then shoots him in the head.

The images were widely shared online and one was published on the front page of a national newspaper.

Malek berated media outlets and websites that showed the graphic content, which he said was extremely painful for the family. “How dare you take this video and broadcast it? I heard his voice, I recognised him, I saw him being killed and I continue to hear him every day.”

Ahmed’s partner, Morgane Ahmad, who said she had watched footage of the shooting without realising it was him, also appealed for calm.

“What the family and I want is for everyone to be united, we want everyone to be able to demonstrate in peace, we want to show respect for all the victims and that the demonstration should be peaceful,” she said.

Ahmed had been a pillar of the family since his father died 20 years earlier, Malek said. The 42-year-old grew up in Livry-Gargan, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, and graduated from the local lycée in 1995. He ran a cleaning company before joining the police force eight years ago, and worked hard for a promotion.

“Through his determination, he had just got his judicial police officer [detective] diploma and was shortly due to leave fieldwork. His colleagues describe him as a man of action who was passionate about his job,” Malek said.

Merabet was called to the scene of the attack while on a bicycle patrol and arrived just as the killers were making their escape. They stopped to add him to the long list of victims.

“He was on foot, and came nose to nose with the terrorists. He pulled out his weapon. It was his job, it was his duty,” said Rocco Contento, a colleague who was a union representative at the central police station for Paris’s 11th arrondissement, where Merabet was based. He described him as a quiet and conscientious officer who was always smiling and widely liked.

As news spread that the gunned down policeman was a Muslim, the hashtag #JeSuisAhmed began spreading on Twitter in solidarity. One user, identified as @Aboujahjah, said: “I am not Charlie, I am Ahmed the dead cop. Charlie ridiculed my faith and culture and I died defending his right to do so.”

List of leaders to attend Paris rally on Sunday

PUBLIC

January 11, 2015 7:41am

France will stage a mass rally in Paris on Sunday that is expected to draw more than a million people in tribute to 17 people killed in three days of Islamist attacks.

The rally will be attended by French political leaders from both the left and right -- including President Francois Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.

Leaders from around the world will also join the march in solidarity. Here is a list of world political figures who have confirmed their attendance:

Albania -- Prime Minister Edi Rama

Algeria -- Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra

Austria -- Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz

Belgium -- Prime Minister Charles Michel

Benin -- President Thomas Boni Yayi

Britain -- Prime Minister David Cameron

Bulgaria -- Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

Canada -- Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney

Croatia -- Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic

Czech -- Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka

Denmark -- Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Gabon -- President Ali Bongo Ondimba

Georgia -- Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili

Germany -- Chancellor Angela Merkel

Greece -- Prime Minister Antonis Samaras

Hungary -- Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Israel -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Italy -- Prime Minister Matteo Renzi

Jordan -- King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

Latvia -- Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma

Mali -- President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

Niger -- President Mahamadou Issoufou

Palestinian territories -- president Mahmud Abbas

Portugal -- Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho

Romania -- President Klaus Iohannis

Russia -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Spain -- Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy

Switzerland -- President Simonetta Sommaruga

The Netherlands -- Prime Minister Mark Rutte

Tunisia -- Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa

Turkey -- Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

United Arab Emirates -- Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan

Ukraine -- President Petro Poroshenko

United States -- Attorney General Eric Holder

European Commission -- President Jean-Claude Juncker

European Parliament -- President Martin Schulz

European Union -- President Donald Tusk

NATO -- Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

—Agence France-Presse

 

#GlobalJusticeWeekly – Civil society welcomes Palestine as 123rd ICC member state

PUBLIC

Posted on January 9, 2015

Palestine’s accession to the ICC Rome Statute last week is a crucial step towards accountability for grave crimes in the region and a peaceful resolution of one of the world’s longest running conflicts, the Coalition for the ICC said this week.

After depositing the instruments of accession with the UN Secretary General on 2 January, Palestine became the 123rd state to join the world’s only permanent international court capable of trying individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Palestine also submitted a declaration to the ICC under Article 12.3 of the Rome Statute granting the Court jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on Palestinian territory since 13 June 2014—the date of the initiation of the Israel-Gaza hostilities this past summer.

“The Coalition fully supports Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute,” said William Pace, convenor of the Coalition for the ICC. “For 12 years, the Coalition has urged all states to exercise their right to join the ICC, and key members have made special appeals to both Israel and Palestine to join the Court during the last year, which saw some of the deadliest and most destructive armed conflict between the two countries.”

“We hope this move will contribute to ending the cycles of violence between Israel and Palestine,”Pace continued. “Contrary to the position of some, Coalition members argue that enforcing international humanitarian law strengthens the peace process, while also giving victims recourse to legal remedy.”

Zbigniew Brzezinski: Charlie Hebdo Cartoons 'Appalling'

PUBLIC

Friday, 09 Jan 2015 06:05 PM

By Courtney Coren

Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski says the United States should reconsider whether satire should be protected free speech in light of the terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

"We have to take a look more closely at the nature of the so-called satire," Brzezinski, who served under former president Jimmy Carter, said while appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday. 

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"I've not seen what I'm about to say, but I've been told by some people that some of the cartoons were absolutely appalling and directed at the prophet himself. Now, is that really humor or is that an insult designed to provoke?" he asked. 

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Some news outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, have said they don't plan to publish the cartoons that were what allegedly prompted the attack on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters on Wednesday by Muslim extremists.

However, Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for The Atlantic, responded to Brzezinski, explaining that "in the First Amendment . . . the goal is not to protect inoffensive speech. We have free speech to protect what many people would call offensive speech."

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"Our goal in the West is to allow people to say what they want even if it's offensive and painful — that's the principle. That's a sacred ideal of France. It's a sacred ideal of the U.S.," Goldberg added.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.Newsmax.com/Newsfront/Zbigniew-Brzezinski-satire-free-speech/2015/01/09/id/617677/#ixzz3OTPJx4D0
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Poem for the Islamic City's Paper Boat Race Today

By: Samira Gutoc-Tomawis

As we float our boat
on our ancient lake's route
Cherish, relish the air
the ground we walk afar
Heavenly, free, open to kneel
Daily we hear the adzhan on our ear
Fight what fights the peace
Be it against your kin more so a stranger
No harm on a Christian vendor
No harm on a student or neighbour
Their killing, their pain
Is our pain to defend and honor
To you your religion to me mine
Let's live, learn, earn, and both pray to the Divine

Mass paper boats floating set in Marawi

PUBLIC

By ALI G. MACABALANG

MARAWI CITY – A mass floating of paper boats is set for launching tomorrow (Saturday) at a portion of Lake Lanao (Ranao) in this city to raise public awareness for the protection of the country’s second largest fresh water body and establish a new world Guinness record, facilitating local environmentalists said.

Asmenah Manabilang-Barambangan, event organizer, said at least 1,500 paper boats are expected to go afloat at the lake portion in Raya Madaya village here to break the record of the Australian Royal Navy of more than 200.

She pointed out though that the attempt for Guinness record is just a secondary goal since they designed the event to primarily to create public awareness on the need to develop and preserve Lake Lanao, which is a major source of Mindanao’s hydroelectricity and part of the Maranao cultural heritage.

Maranaos - known as “People of the Lake” – are clamoring for the transfer of the authority for the protection and development of the lake from the national government to the proposed Bangsamoro new autonomous political entity (BNAPE).

At a recent consultation here on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a draft of the enabling law for BNAPE, thousands of Maranaos demanded for Congress to preserve a provision in the measure that empowers the new geopolitical entity to exercise authority to manage, preserve and develop “inland waters” in its territory.

The 340-square kilometer lake, locally called Ranao, lies in this city and Lanao del Sur, both areas that are among the proposed “core territory” of the BNAPE.

The national government retains the authority over the lake on the basis of its being a major hydroelectricity source in Mindanao and parts of Visayas. But Maranaos argue that Ranao is primarily part of their cultural heritage and a major source for fishing and transport livelihood.

Barambangan, incumbent chairperson of Raya Madaya village, was hoping that today’s event would open the eyes of concerned authorities on the cultural, ecological and local economic significance of Ranao.

Local environmentalists created recently a group called “RaNow” to launch various concerted initiatives that includes today’s mass paper boats floating. (Ali G. Macabalang)