Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are among the nearly 50 political figures participating in Frances unity march staged today in Paris. About two million people are peacefully demonstrating in Paris today. Some are singing the National Anthem, the Marseillaise, others are shouting I am Charlie, I am a Jew and I am a cop to pay homage to the 17 people killed in the two terrorist attacks that hit satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Kosher supermarket at Porte de Vincennes this week. Overall, more than 2.5 million people are marching across France. The demonstration, one of the biggest ever staged in Paris, is bringing together people from every religion regardless of their political affiliation as its meant symbolize that France fights terror by strengthening its core Republican values of freedom, fraternity and equality. Gauls news channels, France24, BFMTV and iTele have been providing non-stop coverage of the streets demonstrations with interviews from diverse personalities, from counter-terrorism experts and politicians to sociologists, authors and filmmakers. The ARP, the French guild of authors, directors and producers presided by The Artist helmer Michel Hazanavicius, joined the demonstration, bringing together a large delegation of film industry figures. Among them: Helmer Costa Gavras, singer-turned actor Patrick Bruel, Jean-Paul Salome, president of Unifrance and producer Alain Attal. Today, Paris is the worlds capital, said French President Francois Hollande, who has been welcoming political leaders at his Elysee Palace ahead of the march. Over 2000 police agents have been deployed for the occasion. France remains on high alert: Hayat Boumeddiene, the suspected accomplice of Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people at the Kosher supermarket at Porte de Vincennes and a policewoman in Montrouge, is still on the run. Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve hosted a reunion with international ministers, notably U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in order to discuss national security measures in the aftermaths of these attacks. Several measures have already been revealed by local media reports, notably the creation of a cooperation between Internet companies and European governments that will allow for the detection and tracking of websites and individuals promoting hate speech and religious extremism. The French government also addressed the rise of anti-Semitism in light of the killing of four Jews - Yoav Hattab, Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen and Francois-Michel Saada -- at the Kosher supermarket. Roger Cukierman, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF), told BFMTV the government was willing to guard Jewish schools and synagogues with military officials and will come up with measures to better protect Jews in France. Hollande, Netanyahu and former president Nicolas Sarkozy are among the political figures set to attend a religious service held at the Synagogue des Victoires in homage of the 17 victims. In Italy solidarity to the I Am Charlie cause is taking on political overtones. Daniela Santanche, a prominent member of Silvio Berlusconis center-right Forza Italia party, has announced she is in talks to publish an Italian edition of the French satirical weekly in Italy through her Visibilia Editore imprint. In typical Berlusconi modus operandi, the move could prove to be savvy in both political and business terms. A print run of more than one million copies is planned for a special survivors edition of Charlie Hebdo due out in France next week. In Spain, 24 Horas, pubcaster RTVEs the round-the-clock TV channel, dedicated continuous coverage to the Paris Unity Rally, emphasizing its numbers - 1.5 million, more than expected, plus 2,200 police agents - the presence of Spanish politicians at the march, and the demonstrations message of unity. One single event drew different interpretations, however. As Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy made a TV broadcast, declaring that at least in our experience of terrorism, the only way to combat it is to fight it without concessions - in obvious reference to Basque terrorist group ETA - a rally in Bilbao, attended by thousands, demonstrated in favor of the re-grouping of ETA prisoners in the Basque Country. Meanwhile, 8, a niche Madrid region TV, screened movie Yoyes, about an ETA militant assassinated when she left its ranks, again drawing a parallel - which some will find tendentious, others not - between Islamic and ETA terrorism. (NAMPA / REUTERS)
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 17:49:50 +0000
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