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France Corsica brawl: Mayor bans burkinis amid tensions
15 August 2016
From the section Europe
Police could be seen holding back protesters in the Lupino area of Bastia on Sunday
A village mayor in Corsica has banned full-body swimsuits known as "burkinis" after a beach brawl between families of North African descent and local youths.
The ban was imposed at a special council session on Sunday in Sisco amid tensions over the brawl, in which five people were hurt.Authorities in Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet, on the French Riviera, also banned Islamic burkinis this month.
Witnesses say hatchets and harpoons were used in the Sisco beach brawl.
The five injured on Saturday were later discharged from hospital, but tensions are simmering in the area.
Tension has grown this summer between local communities and Muslims of North African origin in the south of France, especially following the massacre of 85 people by a lorry driver on the seafront at Nice on 14 July.
Women's rights minister Laurence Rossignol warned that the debate over burkinis was being used for "ulterior motives", especially by the far right. While denouncing the burkini as "profoundly archaic", she said that in order to combat such outdated ideas, politicians had to maintain their composure. "I don't want our society being ignited by these subjects."
A woman in a burkini on a French beach: There is heated debate about such costumes
But Sisco Mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni was adamant his decision was "nothing to do with racism, it's about protecting people's security". Corsica was "sitting on a powder-keg", he said. The ban, which he had considered for some time, was not against Muslims but aimed at protecting people of North African descent as much as anyone else.
The mayors who imposed burkini bans in Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet are both in the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, while Mr Vivoni is, like the women's rights minister, a Socialist.
On Sunday a crowd of more than 200 Corsicans tried to march on a housing estate - Lupino - on the southern edge of Bastia, but were blocked by police. The Muslim families of North African origin were believed to be from Lupino.
There were scuffles with police, and some in the crowd chanted "This is our home!", France's Le Monde daily reported (in French). Finally the crowd dispersed.
'Hatchets and harpoons'
The justice authorities have launched an investigation to determine exactly what happened on the beach.Witnesses say the brawl began after the Muslim families objected to photos being taken by a tourist. When a local teenager, with a group of friends on the beach, also took a photo the brawl erupted. Stones and bottles were thrown. "It wasn't the burkini that started the row," the mayor told French radio. Soon about 40 men from Sisco arrived to defend the youths, witnesses said, and one of the men was slashed with a harpoon blade.
According to Le Figaro newspaper (in French), some of the older men in the bathing party had attacked the teenagers with hatchets. Villagers allegedly then set alight cars belonging to the bathers.
France has a deep-rooted tradition of secularism, making the wearing of religious symbols in public spaces controversial. Islamic headscarves are banned from French schools and niqabs (full-face veils) and burkas (full-body veils) cannot be worn in public.
The head of Corsica's regional executive, Gilles Simeoni, has appealed for calm.
At the end of last month, an outlawed Corsican paramilitary group warned Islamist militants against targeting their island.
Mr Vivoni told France Info radio on Monday that the atmosphere in his community was tense and he appealed for the situation to calm down. "There's a fear but I assure everyone that the community is well protected and in any case I think here we're 'protected from retaliation', so to speak."
A court in Nice has upheld the Cannes ban but a religious group, Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), has said it will take the case to France's highest administrative court.
A French court in Nice has upheld the ban on burkinis imposed by the mayor of Cannes.
The court said the ruling was legal but many religious groups were outraged.The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) said it would appeal against the decision in France's highest administrative court.
Authorities in Cannes and nearby villages voted to ban full-body swimsuits or burkinis from the end of July.
The court said the ban was legal under a law which prohibits people neglecting common rules on "relations between public authorities and private individuals" on the basis of religion.
The judge noted the ban came "in the context of the state of emergency and recent Islamist attacks, notably in Nice a month ago".
But CCIF lawyer Sefen Guez Guez, said he would lodge an appeal with the Council of State, the highest administrative body in France. "This decision opens the door to a ban on all religious symbols in the public space," he added.
France is on high alert following a series of incidents including July's truck attack in nearby Nice.
Anyone caught breaking the new rule could face a fine of €38 (£33). They will first be asked to change into another swimming costume or leave the beach.
Nobody has been apprehended for wearing a burkini in Cannes since the edict came into force at the end of July.
This is not the first time that women's clothing has been restricted in France. In 2011 it became the first country in Europe to ban the full-face Islamic veil, known as the burka, as well as the partial face covering, the niqab.
Earlier this week a private waterpark near Marseille cancelled a burkini-only day after being subjected to criticism.
The mayor of Cannes in France has banned full-body swimsuits, or "burkinis", from the French city's beaches.
David Lisnar issued the ordinance on the grounds that burkinis, which are popular with Muslim women, "could risk disrupting public order while France was the target of terrorist attacks".
He also said burkinis were a "symbol of Islamic extremism" which are "not respectful of [the] good morals and secularism" upon which the French state was founded.
Muslim women from around the world have been quick to react to news of the ban.
"This is just an Islamophobic attack on Muslim women in Cannes," Aysha Ziauddin, who lives in Norfolk, told the BBC.
"The burkini allows me the freedom to swim and go on the beach, and I don't feel I am compromising my beliefs for that.
"No-one has ever told me to wear it - it's my own choice.
"How is a woman on a beach swimming in a wetsuit with her head covered a symbol of Islamic extremism?
"Even Nigella Lawson wore one!"
"I own a burkini and I love it," Sabrina Akram told the BBC. She grew up in Pakistan, and now lives in the US state of Massachusetts.
"I am a practising Muslim, and I believe there should be a choice," she said.
"I honestly don't like exposing my body in public, and I like to work fashion into my preferences on how I wish to clothe myself.
"A big part of being in a modern society, part of living in freedom, is allowing people to live their life how they want to live it.
"By putting forward this ban [the mayor of Cannes] is infringing upon a human's basic right to live how they wish to.
"It's not the responsibility of a public servant to dictate how I choose to cover my body."
"I don't have a burkini, but I do swim wearing a headscarf, tracksuit bottoms and long T-shirt," Kerry Amr told the BBC. Kerry, who lives in the town of Telford in the west of England, converted to Islam eight years ago, and although she chooses not to wear a burkini, she believes women should be free to choose what to wear when they go to the beach. "I think [the ban is] slightly ridiculous," she said.
"In Victorian times swimmers would wear long baggy trousers, full tops and swimming caps and no-one blinked an eye! "I fail to see how a woman wishing to cover her body with a particular style of costume whilst swimming can possibly be a symbol of Islamic extremism. "I accept that there are some horrendously psychotic people out there proclaiming to be fighting on behalf of one group or another. "However, what a woman chooses to wear on a public beach is not going to make the slightest bit of difference, and just hands ammunition to those who want to... recruit to their twisted ideology."
Maryam Ouiles, from Gloucester, told the BBC she wears the burkini so she can play with her children at the pool and at the beach. "I think it's outrageous that you would effectively be asked to uncover some flesh or leave," she said. "When did it become a crime to cover yourself? "People are always complaining that Muslims should integrate more, but when we join you for a swim that's not right either. "Why is it necessary for us to show off our bodies when we don't want to?"
On this day in 1947 India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of Crown rule and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
'Swaraj' versus 'Surajya'
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Our resolve is to turn 'Swaraj' into 'Surajya': PM Modi
By ANI Published: 15th August 2016 10:03 AM Last Updated: 15th August 2016 10:07 AM
NEW DELHI: On the occasion of 70th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government’s resolve is to turn ‘Swaraj’ (self-rule) into ‘Surajya’ (good rule), adding that it resolved to fulfil the dream of ‘Ek Bharat, Sresth Bharat’.
“Today on this special day, I convey my greetings to 125 crore Indians and the Indian community living overseas. May this energy guide the nation to scale newer heights of progress in the years to come. We remember Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru, countless people who sacrificed their lives so that we attained Swarajya,” Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort here in the national capital.
Prime Minister Modi said India's age is not 70 years, but the journey post colonial rule for a better India is 70-year old.
“From the Vedas to Vivekananda, we have a long history. India is an ancient country with a rich cultural heritage. It is because of our great freedom fighters who laid their live that we are independent,” he added.
He said it was an opportunity to renew and resolve the energy to take the country to new heights.
“Yes, we face several problems. But we are capable to overcome them. The onus is on 125 crore people of India to convert this 'Swaraj' (self-rule) into 'Surajya' (good rule). We will fulfil the dream of ‘Ek Bharat, Sresth Bharat’,” he added.
The Prime Minister said it is easy to keep account of the work done by the government, but it is difficult to have in-depth knowledge of those initiatives.
“From Panchayat to Parliament and from Village Head to the Prime Minister…everybody should understand their responsibilities. Today, more than Karya, I want to talk about Karya Sanskriti on the government,” he added.
He said the meaning of ‘Surajya’ is a qualitative and positive change in the lives of the citizen of India.
“Today I am not talking only about Niyati (policies), but also about Neeyat (intentions). 'Surajya' means a government should be sensitive towards the common man, weaker sections. For this, one needs to give importance to good governance, accountability and transparency in any government is paramount,” he added.
The Prime Minister was received by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre, Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar and General Officer Commanding (GOC) Delhi area Lt General Vijay Singh.
He inspected the Guard of Honour in the company of Wing Commander K. Srinivas after which he unfurled the national flag.
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