Charlie Hebdo: After being shunned and excluded, France’s far-right march alone |
- Charlie Hebdo: After being shunned and excluded, France’s far-right march alone
- Digerati50: Itching to take on the big boys
- Siapa kisah Lembah Bujang?
- Charlie Hebdo: Tears, cheers… but no fears
- Nigeria’s Cafe Neo hopes to conquer Africa’s major cities with coffee chain
- Charlie Hebdo: In Buenos Aires, demonstrators repudiate Paris attacks
| Charlie Hebdo: After being shunned and excluded, France’s far-right march alone Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:59 PM PST
Party leader Marine Le Pen led a demonstration in the FN-controlled southern town of Beaucaire after denouncing what she called the "exclusion" of her party from Paris march, which drew more than a million people in solidarity with the 17 victims of terror attacks this week. Though debate had raged among French political leaders over whether the generally ostracised FN should be allowed to participate alongside other parties in the Paris demonstration against terrorism, Le Pen claimed she and her supporters had been shunned even though President Francois Hollande had invited "all citizens" to participate. Leading a thousand FN marchers in Beaucaire, Le Pen thanked the crowd "for being here and reminding us of the values of liberty," saluting them from beneath a banner reading "I Am Charlie — Homage to the victims of terrorism." The slogan contrasted with the flat rejection Saturday by her father and FN founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, to associate with the "#JeSuisCharlie" (IAmCharlie) slogan which expresses unqualified solidarity the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper targeted by Islamist attackers who killed 12 people Wednesday. "Sorry, but I'm not Charlie," the elder Le Pen told the Beaucaire crowd in a video message, echoing his long-standing hostility towards the paper that frequently singled him out for merciless satire. During a press conference yesterday, Le Pen senior deployed his notorious use of mocking humour to disparage the national march and politicians leading it, by referring to them as "charlots"—the French nickname for Charlie Chaplin that also means "clown." "All these people are marching with the placard 'I Am Charlie,' when they're actually 'charlots' responsible for the decadence of France," Le Pen said, adding that French and European leaders "bear the responsibility for what happened" in the attacks by failing to address rising immigration and halting integration of foreigners.
He said he felt compassion for his "fellow citizens" killed in the attack, but railed against the "anarcho-Trotskyist spirit" of Charlie Hebdo which he derided as corrosive to "political morality" — AFP  |
| Digerati50: Itching to take on the big boys Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:58 PM PST
Fortunately, seven years into his tenure, Wahab is delivering. Mimos today delivers almost 95 per cent of the monetisation that all the 18 agencies under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation make. The definition of monetisation at Mimos is when the private sector makes money from the technologies that Mimos has developed. It is not just the recipients of Mimos which are grateful for the technology it develops, but its own researchers too, who in 2012 received over RM10 million (US$2.8 million) in bonuses from the revenue that their products generated in the market. "A portion of the money earned by our researchers goes back to them, this way. That is how we retain our talent," says Wahab. There was a time, before he came in, that Mimos was so poorly regarded that it could not attract any top quality talent to join it but Wahab, who was previously senior director of Wireless Communication R&D at Motorola Asia Pacific, slowly began to infuse Mimos with talent who had extensive multinational experience. This experience in those he brought in was important to Wahab as it came with the know-how of building technology platforms and intellectual property (IP) that allowed multinationals to scale by re-using the platform globally, with minor customisations to suit different customer needs. Wahab wants to do the same for Malaysia and therefore allow technology platforms Mimos develops, to be used by local companies to solve customer problems. "Instead of them making 10 per cent to 20 per cent margins being resellers for multinational-owned technology, this way they can make 40 per cent margins by building their own software solution on our platform," he says. Malaysia therefore needs technology for which it owns the IP, which it can then take out to the world. He sees public research institutes such as Mimos playing a critical role here, especially in galvanising industry and university input into a fusion between market needs (provided by industry) and technology push (provided by the universities). Mimos has built what Wahab describes as an Open Innovation Platform "to accelerate and strengthen the ecosystem." One key strategy in strengthening the ecosystem is the creation in January 2014 of Frontier Innovation Sdn Bhd, Mimos' own commercial arm. "The idea here is that we will inject our technology into large local tech companies in return for equity. That's our focus for 2014," says Wahab. His idea is that this injection of technology will help the large local tech companies to expand beyond Malaysia. And, when they get stronger, they will then outsource some work to local tech SMEs (small and medium enterprises). "We want them to leapfrog," says Wahab, who strongly feels his main job is to develop local indigenous technology that can go global. Surprisingly, Wahab feels Mimos is still not moving fast enough. "I wish I was younger," he muses, wistfully. "We need to be forceful and focused to make things happen." Key among what he wants to make happen is to see the Government start adopting local technology. "They say that [they will] but it is not happening yet. And yet, that is the big cry out from industry," he says. "I know we can compete with the big boys, we just need the opportunity." — Digital News Asia * This story first appeared here. ** Digerati50 is a weekly series that profiles the top 50 influencers, movers and shakers who are helping shape Malaysia's Digital Economy. |
| Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:50 PM PST JANUARY 12 — Benarkah terdapat usaha menyembunyikan sejarah dan fakta oleh pihak tertentu demi memastikan kebenaran tidak muncul pada permukaan? Demikian antara persoalan yang terus bermain dalam minda saya sejak berpeluang berkunjung ke Lembah Bujang, Kedah buat kali pertama pada 31 Januari dan 1 Februari 2014. Saya pergi bersama-sama Prabhawathy Govindarajoo, Devishi Prabha Sankari dan Kughan Nadarajah dengan kerjasama Datuk Murugan Alimuthu dan Kartik Ramachandran berikutan kes Candi Nombor 11 dimusnahkan pemaju perumahan. Pada kesempatan itu, kami dibawa melawat dan mewawancara beberapa tokoh tempatan yang tahu kisah sebenar Lembah Bujang secara mendalam. Antara individu yang sempat ditemui ialah pengkaji sejarah Kedah Tua, Dr Jayabarathi; penulis veteran, Rayappan dan pengkaji sejarah, Balan Nair.
Keseluruhan bangunan kuil itu tertimbus di bawah tanah. Pada tahun 1957, seorang penoreh getah ternampak sebahagian bangunan kuil itu dan terus memberitahu orang ramai. Setahun kemudian, kerja-kerja arkeologi dimulakan oleh pengkaji dari Perancis dan Jerman. Rayappan bersama-sama rakan-rakannya tidak melepaskan peluang untuk pergi melihat tapak berkenaan. "Kami segera cam bahawa bangunan berkenaan merupakan sebuah kuil Dewa Shiva. Tidak ada sebarang berhala. Apa yang kelihatan adalah sebuah linga yang mewakili Shiva," katanya sambil mengimbas kenangan. Bangunan kuil dibina menggunakan batu paarai (batu bongkah hampar). Keseluruhan bangunan berkenaan berjaya digali keluar pada tahun 1958. Kuil yang hilang penuh misteri "Kebetulan pada masa itu, dua tokoh budaya dan bahasa Tamil dari India datang ke Bedong sempena sambutan Tamilar Thirunal. Kami membawa mereka melawat tapak kuil tersebut dengan penuh bangga," kata Rayappan yang berusia sekitar 24 tahun pada waktu itu. Menurut papan tanda yang dipasang pakar arkeologi, kuil Shiva itu dibina sekitar kurun 10 Sebelum Masehi di atas perintah Rajendra Cholan.
Memanglah raja dari negara India itu tidak pernah datang ke Kadaram (Kedah). Bagaimanapun, mengikut catatan sejarah yang juga terdapat diIndia, wujud perjanjian damai antara Kedah dan Kerajaan Cholan. "Saya ada terbaca di sebuah majalah terbitan Singapura bahawa kepingan wang emas dan batu permata turut ditemui pakar kaji bumi di tapak bangunan kuil berkenaan pada 1958. "Khabarnya tempayan berisi barangan bernilai sekitar 9 juta ringgit itu dibawa ke Kuala Lumpur. Selepas itu, tiada sebarang berita mengenainya," Rayappan menceritakan sewaktu ditemui di rumahnya. Menurut warga emas itu, batu-bata pada kuil asal juga dipercayai sudah ditukar semasa bangunan berkenaan dipindahkan ke tapak baru di Lembah Bujang. Tidak diketahui apa yang berlaku kepada batu-bata asal yang bernilai tinggi itu. "Selepas peristiwa hitam 13 Mei 1969, sejarah negara nampaknya sudah mula diubah sesuka hati oleh pihak tertentu. Misalnya, fakta bahawa kuil berkenaan dibina atas perintah Rajendra Cholan sudah dipadam," katanya. Pernah ada sebuah kuil Dewa Muruhan yang dibina sekitar 300 tahun lalu di Gunung Jerai. Gunung berkenaan memang amat sinonim dengan kedatangan pedagang India ke Kedah pada zaman dahulu. Kita tentu maklum bahawa Gunung Jerai menjadi semacam mercu tanda dan penunjuk arah kepada kapal pedagang dari India pada zaman dahulu. Sikap 'bangau oh bangau' Beberapa penduduk sekitar Bedong yang ditemui mengatakan bahawa sulam iaitu tombak yang lazim digambarkan dipegang berhala Muruhan (seperti patung besar di Batu Caves) pernah dilihat di kuil atas gunung itu. Kuil, berhala dan sulam itu juga khabarnya sudah ghaib sekarang. Ghaib bukan kerana kuasa mistik tetapi kerana ada pihak yang dipercayai sedang cuba menyembunyikan fakta sejarah serta menghapuskan bahan bukti mengenai pengaruh Hindu di Kedah. "Kita tidak boleh menolak kemungkinan ada pihak yang tidak mahu menerima hakikat dan fakta sejarah bahawa tanah ini pernah berada di bawah kuasa dan pemerintahan kerajaan Hindu-Budha dari India. "Mungkin ada pihak yang mahu mencipta ilusi dan kepalsuan bahawa negara ini tidak pernah menerima pengaruh luar — khasnya India — sebelum penjajahan Portugis, Belanda dan British," Rayappan berkongsi hopitesis. Pandangan ini membawa pula kepada persoalan mengapa tidak ada pihak yang prihatin tampil memperjuangkan dan membetulkan fakta. Pertanyaan ini adalah wajar kerana hasil pertemuan dengan begitu ramai penduduk kaum India di sekitar Bedong selama dua hari, saya dapati rata-rata mengatakan ada pihak cuba menyembunyikan fakta. Mereka juga mengeluh kerana sejarah dan fakta sebenar Lembah Bujang tidak disebarkan kepada umum. Mereka mahu identiti, fakta dan maklumat sebenar mengenai Lembah Bujang diketahui orang. Maka, persoalannya adalah mengapa penduduk di situ — khususnya generasi muda dan tua kaum India yang kononnya begitu prihatin — tidak memikul tanggungjawab menyebarkan fakta sebenar? Rayappan memberikan alasan bahawa sejak 1958, hanya pengkaji dan peminat sejarah dan budaya dari Tamil Nadu, India yang menunjukkan minat untuk datang dan melawat Lembah Bujang. "Belum pernah ada orang India tempatan datang bertemu saya dan meminta dibawa melawat tapak-tapak arkeologi di Lembah Bujang. Hanya beberapa kenalan rapat yang datang," tegasnya sambil mengaku bahawa inilah kali pertama beliau diwawancara bagi sebuah makalah. Peluk tubuh dan menanti Hampir setahun sudah berlalu sejak lawatan Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) ke Lembah Bujang tetapi isu-isu yang ditimbulkan Rayappan terus bermain dalam minda saya. Tentulah saya tidak mahu mempertikaikan atau mempersoalkan pandangan yang dikemukakannya. Bagaimanapun, hujah beliau memberikan gambaran jelas bahawa kaum India sendiri kurang berminat terhadap sejarah Lembah Bujang. Penganut Hindu di Malaysia mahu Lembah Bujang diiktiraf sebagai tapak tamadun Hindu, tetapi mereka sendiri hanya mahu berpeluk tubuh dan mengharapkan orang lain melakukan tugas itu. Setahun selepas melawat Lembah Bujang, saya belum mendengar apa-apa berita mengenai usaha yang dilakukan para pejuang terbabit untuk mempertahankan apa yang disifatkan sebagai tamadun Hindu. Pada masa sama, pencinta dan pejuang tersebut mula bising apabila pihak lain tampil mengangkat Lembah Bujang sebagai tapak warisan tamadun Melayu. Usah kita lupa bahawa orang Melayu di negara bertuah ini menganut ajaran Hindu sebelum kedatangan Islam.
Apabila sebuah candi yang dibina di Lembah Bujang pada kurun ke-8 dirobohkan pemaju pada September 2013 — dan kejadian itu diketahui ramai beberapa bulan kemudian – masyarakat pelbagai kaum mula bersuara bagi melahirkan rasa marah dan kecewa. Kemusnahan yang berlaku pada candi berusia lebih 1,200 tahun di Sungai Batu menyedarkan orang ramai bahawa monumen serta tapak arkeologi itu bukan hanya milik orang India-Hindu; sebaliknya juga milik orang Melayu- Hindu pada masa dahulu. Perkara ini pernah saya huraikan menerusi makalah bertajuk "Apa khabar, Lembah Bujang?" (The Malay Mail Online, 17 Mac 2014). Seminar khas kedaulatan Melayu Dalam perkembangan terkini, pada 17 Januari 2015, suatu seminar khas dijadualkan di Taman Lembah Bujang, Bedong. Antara kertas kerja yang menarik adalah "Tarikan Mistik Gunung Jerai dan Sekitarnya" serta "Hindu dan Buddha Berasal daripada Agama Islam." Pengarah Pusat Penyelidikan Arkeologi Global, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr Mokhtar Saidin dijangka menyampaikan kertas berja bertajuk "Sungai Batu Sebagai Tapak Tamadun Tertua di Asia Tenggara". Keesokan hari, peserta akan dibawa melawat Tapak Arkeologi Sungai Batu. Menurut penganjur, "sesiapa yang sayangkan Melayu dan Islam boleh datang" serta "digalakkan memakai busana Melayu bertanjak, bersampin dan berkeris." Menurut maklumat di blog penganjur, mereka "memohon dikembalikan hak ketuhanan Melayu selain hak ketuanan Melayu". Maka, usah mengharapkan kehebatan tamadun Hindu-Buddha di Lembah Bujang diangkat menerusi program ini. Dalam pada itu, usahlah pula kita bertindak bodoh dengan bertanya apa peranan MIC dalam mempertahankan Lembah Bujang sebagai tapak warisan India-Hindu. Selepas Candi Nombor 11 dijahanamkan pemaju pada September 2013, Pemuda MIC dilaporkan turun padang. Mereka menyerahkan memorandum kepada setiausaha sulit kanan Menteri Besar Kedah pada 3 Disember 2013. Saya mencatatkan dalam makalah "Selamatkan Ashram, Hapuskan Chetti" (The Malay Mail Online, 19 November 2014) bahawa Pemuda MIC telah bergambar beramai-ramai sambil memegang serpihan batu candi dan memuatkan foto di laman Facebook "1 Million Likes To Save Bujang Valley." Semakan pada 11 Januari 2015 menunjukkan laman berkenaan disukai ("like") 22,960 orang (bertambah 5 orang sejak 18 November 2014). Sejak 23 Disember 2014, laman itu sekadar diisi pelbagai berita mengenai usaha Pemuda MIC Kebangsaan membantu mangsa banjir di Pantai Timur. Berita terakhir mengenai Lembah Bujang di laman berkenaan adalah suatu keratan akhbar pada 6 April 2014. Sasaran "1 Million Likes" juga masih terlalu jauh! Semoga paparan ini membuka mata dan menjadi tamparan pada pipi kelompok pejuang Lembah Bujang daripada kalangan kaum India-Hindu. Kita berhak untuk kecewa kerana mereka nampaknya hanya tahu berpeluk tubuh serta mengharapkan orang lain membuat kerja. Mereka hanya tahu bising-bising apabila pihak lain bersikap proaktif dalam mengubah sejarah demi agenda politik. Sesal dahulu pendapatan, sesal kemudian tiada berguna. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malay Mail Online. |
| Charlie Hebdo: Tears, cheers… but no fears Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:49 PM PST
As a shaken France united after its darkest week in decades, such unusual scenes were the order of the day. From early morning until long after sunset Parisians from all walks of life left their homes to join the sea of people rallying against the terror they faced this week, when 17 people died in a three-day killing spree by jihadists. They came from the poor suburbs outside the city limits and from the chic quarters of the centre, they jogged, they cycled, they crammed into packed underground metro trains and when all else failed, they walked there. But they came. For the journalists, police officers, Jews, Muslims and ordinary people killed by extremists. "Who am I?" yelled a driver on one metro line. "Charlie!" responded the crowd, clapping, on a journey where people usually avert gazes and stay glued to their cellphones. "I am really happy to work today and take you to the Republican march," said another driver on the Metro also to applause. The series of attacks which started with a massacre at the Charlie Hebdo weekly on Wednesday and ended with a deadly hostage drama in a Jewish supermarket on Friday, struck as the Gallic mood was already particularly gloomy.
It is the middle of winter, the economy is in the doldrums and the president is the most unpopular in modern history. But the tragedy spurred the greatest outpouring of patriotic spirit seen in decades, with the French flag fluttering through the air and the Marseillaise anthem ringing out through days of marches. One of the most unexpected scenes of the day, was when a crowd burst into spontaneous applause for passing gendarmes, shouting "Thank You"—in a country where riot police are notoriously unpopular. Then there were the tears. First from some marchers unable to contain their emotion, then from families of those killed in the three days of terror who wept and held hands. One employee of the Charlie Hebdo magazine where 12 people were massacred on Wednesday fell into Hollande's arms as he greeted those affected. Earlier, dozens of world leaders linked arms, leading the mammoth procession as over a million people crammed tightly into the main arteries and side streets of Paris. 'We can live together' Despite their differences, people came together under wintry blue skies with a defiant message: France will not be divided by fear or religious differences. "I am French and I am not afraid" read one banner. Daniel, a hip young Jewish singer and Riad a 60-year-old Muslim shopkeeper swapped views on the country's ordeal as the crowd gathered. "We can live together," said Daniel Benisty, 30, who is Jewish like the four men killed when Islamist gunman Amedy Coulibaly stormed a kosher supermarket in the French capital on Friday. "It's the idea of living together because we share the same values, liberty, fraternity, equality, to live in peace and respect each other despite our differences." "Exactly!" agreed Riad, the 60-year-old shopkeeper. "I don't recognise these Islamists, they're not Muslims." 'Are the bad men coming?' Isabelle Dahmani, a French Christian married to a Muslim, Mohamed, brought their three children aged 11, nine and four to show them there is nothing to fear. The nine-year-old burst into tears watching the news this week, Isabelle admitted, saying her daughter had asked if "the bad men are coming to our house?" The oldest son teased his embarrassed sister while the four-year-old, dressed in pink from head to toe with a piece of paper saying "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) pinned to her jacket, hid giggling behind her mother's legs. The phrase that has become the slogan of support for the cartoonists and journalists massacred at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly was seen everywhere. "We are in a free country. We want to stop this terrorism. We want them to see and understand Republican values," Isabelle told AFP. "But we are kind of anxious, you never know what can happen," she added. Her husband Mohamed, who is a non-practising Muslim, said that after the attacks, "I didn't want to leave the house, I was mostly scared of retaliation." "One must not confuse Muslims with terrorists," he said. But not everyone went to the march. Samir, 29, said he found it hard to condemn the Islamist attack on Charlie Hebdo, as the satirical magazine had "insulted the prophet." Samia, 47, in another part of Paris, was annoyed for other reasons. She thinks the march "gives importance to jihadists, to these crazies." 'Laugh! It isn't over' Earlier in the morning, several joggers on their morning run stopped to pay tribute to the dead. Lassina Traore, a 34-year-old French-born Muslim from the Ivory Coast, stopped after an 8km run to gently light 17 candles at the foot of the iconic republican monument in the centre of the large Place de la Republique square from where the marchers later set off. The march is "a real sign of how strong France is. It shows that France is strong when it is united against these people," said the consultant. As more and more Parisians poured into the spot—and, when that became crammed to capacity, to nearby streets—some held high cartoons drawn by the slain Charlie Hebdo staff. One banner covered in the cartoons proclaimed: "Laugh Charlie, it isn't over." — AFP |
| Nigeria’s Cafe Neo hopes to conquer Africa’s major cities with coffee chain Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:48 PM PST
A trendy young crowd occupies comfortable sofas, armed with laptops for a brainstorming session over cafe lattes, frappuccinos and soft jazz. The morning scene wouldn't raise an eyebrow in New York, London or Paris but cafe culture is a new phenomenon in Nigeria's biggest city, where until recently finding a decent espresso was a battle. The bright young things and senior managers were in Cafe Neo, on Victoria Island in Lagos, which has been specifically designed to cater to the tastes of "repats". Ngozi Dozie and his brother Chijoke created the chain with returning Nigerians in mind, in the full knowledge that years spent abroad alter views, tastes and expectations. Now the brothers hope to conquer Africa's major cities with 100 per cent African coffee before giants of the business such as Starbucks try to capture the market. "The demand (in Lagos) is very high. There's a significant minority of people who love coffee and want to drink coffee but haven't had access to coffee," Ngozi told AFP. The "significant minority" have studied and worked abroad, coming back in their thousands from the United States or Europe as austerity measures kicked in after the global financial crisis. While they were away, Nigeria — already Africa's most populous nation with some 170 million people — became the continent's leading economy — and a country ripe with opportunity. With economic growth has come an emerging middle class, which has increased six fold to 4.1 million households between 2000 and 2014, according to a recent study by Standard Bank. Indian inspiration A number of US chains such as KFC and Domino's Pizza are already in Nigeria and increasingly popular, despite the astronomical costs of running a business in the country. Poor or non-existent infrastructure forces businesses to rely on huge electricity generators to keep the lights on when the public supply goes off, sometimes for up to 12 hours a day. The brothers' idea is to first conquer the Nigerian market before Starbucks, which has more than 20,000 cafes in 65 countries across the globe but none in sub-Saharan Africa. Ngozi Dozie is not yet 40 and is himself a "repat". Before embarking on the business venture, he knew friends who would bring back bags of coffee from the United States. He said he was inspired by India, where Cafe Coffee Day has largely cornered the market, despite the increasing presence of international chains such as Britain's Costa Coffee or Starbucks. "India is a fantastic example with Cafe Coffee Day," he explained. "We aim at something similar. "We're starting young right now and our aim is to grow as such that yes, Starbucks may come, but we want to be the choice of Nigerians, because there's that affinity with something that comes from here, in Africa." Produce and consume Neo has three cafes currently in Lagos and two others are scheduled to open early this year. There is another outlet in Kigali. All the cafes only serve 100 per cent Rwandan arabica, which has become one of its main selling points. The chain is hoping to branch out across Africa and expects to have between 20 and 30 cafes in Lagos alone within the next four years. "Neo, in Tswana, the language in Botswana, means 'gift', and of course it also means 'new' in Latin," said Dozie. "So, it's a new way... a new approach to coffee, a new approach where we, as Africans, drink the coffee that we produce, that's been a gift for us, as opposed to exporting it and importing sub-grade coffee." Africa's main coffee producers such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda currently export most of their products to the United States and Europe. Kayitana John Bosco was brought over to Nigeria from Rwanda to train locals on how to make a proper coffee at Cafe Neo — and said it was time for a change. "Our first coffee tree was planted in 1904," he said of his homeland. "We've been producing coffee for more than a century. But brewing, the consumption... it's really still down. "I visited a coffee farmer in 2007. That old man had been doing coffee farming for 20 years, but he didn't know the taste of it. "So, his job was to do farming, harvest, send. He didn't know where it was going or what it was used for." — AFP/Relaxbews |
| Charlie Hebdo: In Buenos Aires, demonstrators repudiate Paris attacks Posted: 11 Jan 2015 04:46 PM PST
Demonstrators broke out in choruses of the Marseillaise and the Argentine national anthem outside the French diplomatic mission in Buenos Aires's La Recoleta neighborhood. Signs carried by those who turned out to pay their respects read "Everyone United," "I am Charlie," "I am Charlie, I am a police, I am a Jew." The references were to Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly where 12 people were killed by two gunmen in the first attack on Wednesday. Four more people were killed Friday a kosher grocery in Paris by a third gunman, who had killed a policewoman the day before. "The world is united against these madmen, who are a minority, demons who represent nobody," French ambassador Jean-Michel Casa said. The demonstration was part of a worldwide outpouring of solidarity with France is it struggles to regain its balance after the sudden attacks by French nationals. In Paris, an estimated 1.5 million people, including dozens of world leaders, marched through the city's streets in a defiant show of unity. French flags were raised in the crowd outside the French embassy here, and flowers were left along its wrought iron fence.
Among those present were leaders of Argentina's large Jewish community and opposition politicians. Juan Carr, of the Solidarity Network NGO, asked for a minute of silence before shouting, "Long live solidarity in the world." Maruja Colca, a Peruvian whose daughter lives in France, came wrapped in a Peruvian flag. "I share the pain of the families (of the victims). We all have a right to life. Only God can decide on that. We all think differently but we have to be respected," she said. — AFP |
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