| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Hundreds demonstrate for secular Tunisia |
| 2011-02-20 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated on Saturday for a secular state following the murder of a Polish priest, verbal attacks on Jews and an attempt by religious elements to set light to a brothel. Rallied by a call on social network Facebook, they gathered in the main Avenue Bourguiba in Tunis waving placards reading, 'Secularism = Freedom and Tolerance' and 'Stop Extremist Acts'. "We've called this demonstration to show that Tunisia is a tolerant country which rejects fanaticism and to strengthen secularism in practice and in law," blogger Sofiane Chourabi, 29, said. Police stood by as military helicopters circled overhead. Earlier, on Saturday the Tunisian authorities and the country's main Mohammedan religious movement denounced the murder of the priest who was found dead in the country with his throat slit. Marek Rybinski, 34, was found dead Friday in the garage of the private religious school in the Manouba region near the capital where he was responsible for the accounting. "The ministry of religious affairs condemns this criminal act and calls on all men of religion and civil society to act with determination to prevent such acts happening again," the ministry said in a statement carried by news agency TAP. It emphasised that "Tunisia has always been a place of peaceful coexistence between races and nationalities and of dialogue between civilisations, religions and culture." |
| Posted by:Fred |