French politician told to apologise over Roma comment
Hindus
have strongly objected to French nationalist politician Jean-Marie Le Pen
reportedly implying Roma (Gypsies) were thieves in a recent speech in western France.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, argued
that it was a blatant defamation of the entire community of about 15-million
European Roma which should not be acceptable in 21st century Europe which boasts of its human rights record. It simply
smacked of xenophobia and racism against a community which had been around in Europe since ninth century CE.
Zed,
who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Le Pen to show some
maturity and publicly apologize for his comments about Roma. It was simply
inhuman to devastate the lives of voiceless Roma just to gain political
mileage.
Recently,
vigilantes reportedly forcibly evicted Roma and burned their settlement in
Marseille in southern France.
The new socialist government headed by President Francois Hollande seemed to
have adopted the similar much-criticized policy of crackdown on Roma
settlements and deporting the poor inhabitants which was the same policy as the
previous conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Rajan Zed
argued.
Instead
of unleashing repression, France
and Europe needed to work on social inclusion
and rehabilitation of Roma communities. What was more baffling that even
religious elite of France
had not come out openly against this unjust crackdown on poor Roma while the
religions clearly told us to help the helpless, Zed noted.
Europe’s
most persecuted and discriminated community, Roma were reportedly facing
apartheid conditions in Europe. Roma
reportedly regularly encountered social exclusion, racism, substandard
education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower
life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust,
rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living
conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc., Rajan Zed pointed out.
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