By KUNA
Paris : The Council of Europe, which is the watchdog for human rights on this continent, on Monday strongly condemned the desecration discovered the previous day of 148 French Muslim graves in the military cemetery of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, near Arras in northern France.
Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis said in a statement issued in Strasbourg that the desecration is “a despicable act of racism” and he praised the French authorities for their forceful reaction and their pursuing of the perpetrators.
It is the second such desecration in the cemetery in the past year and 52 Muslim graves were previously damaged there.
All of Frances political and religious class decried and condemned the latest vandalism in the cemetery, where 30,000 Muslims who died in World War I in French uniform are buried.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday it was “racism” of the most unacceptable type and Justice Minister Rashida Dati, who was personally targeted in slogans on the graves, said the vandalism “was an insult to all French people.” She vowed to pursue and punish those responsible.
Davis of the Council of Europe said that “condemnation is not enough” when faced with such vandalism against Muslim, Jewish or any other community property.
“We must act to prevent Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and any other form of racism in our societies. The memory of those who died is our collective responsibility as Europeans,” the Secretary General added.
“We defend this memory by protecting the rights and the dignity of every community, by rejecting hate and by encouraging tolerance and respect, everywhere and everyday, not only when we are reminded of our responsibilities by yet another act of racist violence and destruction.” The Council of Europe was set up in 1949 and works to promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 47 member states.