France yesterday commemorated for the first time its abolition of slavery more than 150 years ago, which marked the formal end of a practice it has since branded a crime against humanity.
President Jacques Chirac was to attend a ceremony in the Luxembourg Gardens in the center of Paris with his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin.
There, he was to inaugurate a temporary work by a French artist featuring a bamboo arch dotted with photographs of people of different backgrounds, which is to be replaced later by a monument.
The Pantheon, a neo-classic building nearby that houses the remains of famous French figures, was to provide free entry to the tombs of those who fought against slavery.
Chief among them was Victor Schoelcher, an abolitionist in the 19th century who argued against France's practice of slavery in its West Indies islands to produce sugar.
Schoelcher's struggle contributed to a decree issued on April 27, 1848, which definitively abolished slavery in France and its colonies and returned freedom to some 260,000 slaves.
Several attempts have been made to establish a nationwide commemoration to mark abolition, but it was only in January that Chirac declared May 10 as the annual day to remember victims of slavery.
Crime against humanity
"Slavery fed racism. When people tried to justify the unjustifiable, that was when the first racist theories were elaborated. Racism is a crime of the heart and the spirit ... which is why the memory of slavery remains a living wound for some of our fellow citizens," he said at the time.
May 10 was chosen because it was the day in 2001 that the legislature approved a law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity.
France's overseas territories, which have a mainly black population, already have annual slavery memorial days.
Colonial role
Chirac's decision to declare a slavery abolition day followed a bitter row over a law passed last year which said France's colonial past had a "positive role" on its former possessions. That part of the law was eventually scrapped by France's constitutional council.
Questions over slavery and France's colonial history have become especially sensitive in the country since the weeks of rioting last November among mainly black and Arab youths.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS