EN DEPIT DE L'OPPOSITION DE L'UE, L'ESPAGNE ET LA BELGIQUE INTERDISENT LA BURQA

Despite EU Opposition, Spain Joins Belgium in Move to Outlaw Desert Garb

Thu, 01/07/2010 | BNP News

Spain’s northern region of Catalonia has joined Belgium in seeking to pass a law which forbids the wearing of the burka in public, despite the EU’s “human rights” committee voting to outlaw all bans on the desert garb.

Muslim "immigrants" demonstrate on the streets of SpainThe municipal council in Coin, a town of some 21,000 inhabitants in the Andalucia region near the city of Malaga, has already approved the burka ban by a large majority. The move will see the dress forbidden from all public buildings, including schools and sports centres.

In recent weeks, several municipalities in Catalonia which included the city of Barcelona, have announced bans on the face-covering Islamic veils in public or are considering doing so.

Yesterday, Catalonia's regional parliament postponed a vote which would have imposed a region wide ban on the burka in public places. The postponement was due to a backlog of other legislation and the motion will be presented at a later date.

The motion states that authorities "cannot remain on the sidelines of the European debate," and cites moves in both France and Belgium to ban the full-face veil.

Spain's upper house of parliament last week approved a motion calling on Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government to ban the burka in public.

Earlier this month Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said the government planned to restrict the use of the veils in public places under a proposed new law on religious freedom.

Immigration from Muslim countries has grown dramatically in Spain since the 1990s, with Catalonia in particular being home to a large community of Pakistani origin.

Last month, lawmakers in Belgium approved a draft law to ban the wearing of the Muslim full-face veil in public places, including streets. The law is still subject to a senate vote.

In France, the cabinet has approved a draft law to ban the Muslim full-face veil from public spaces. The law is expected to be put to the French National Assembly this month.

Meanwhile, EU MEPs who sit on the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe's human rights committee, the Council of Europe, last week unanimously voted against a ban on the burka.

The resolution was part of a report on Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia, which also called on European governments to work to educate Muslim women, their families and communities on their human rights and to encourage them to take part in "public and professional life."

It also called on Switzerland to repeal as soon as possible the ban on the construction of minarets, which it described as discriminatory.

The EU has the ability to legally enforce its decisions on member states. The most recent example has been the limit on bankers’ bonuses ruling, which took force across the entire EU yesterday, irrespective of what other rules parliaments such as that a Westminster may have already decided.

(bnp.org.uk)

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