SOME right wing political leaders in Europe are out to foil the Syrian refugee resettlement issue terming it as a threat to European security after Paris attacks by some terrorists outfits of Muslim origin. With some East European leaders Poland and Slovak government said they would not receive refugees because they are not only against the values of a Christian Europe; they also poise a big threat to internal security. They are out along with the radicals parties to exploit the misgivings against the Muslims to deny refugee settlement in Europe. But the mainstream EU leadership appears to be quite aware of the danger of such divisiveness while essentially upholding the European values; which speak for secularism, equality and human liberty in a multi-cultural society with people of all religions living together. They have rightly warned against the danger of such outlook; which has the potential to split the European Union as some leaders feared in previous statements.
As we see the post Second World War Europe is different now from what it suffered in the past from wars and destruction of human life on pretty religious and chauvinistic reasons to dominate the continent. Europe now has ushered in a modern civilization and it has the moral and factual responsibility to give shelter to Syrian refugees. The terrorist attack in Paris can’t be the reason to discriminate the people who have left their homes as victims of a war in which European nations have also their hands.
A misleading disclosure that a Syrian passport has been found in the side of a dead terrorist who blew him up can’t be the basis to blame the refugees are terrorists. The fact is that most of the terrorists are French nationals while some of them have come from Belgium, although they are Muslims by religion. Europe and France in particular has its racial problems excluding the migrants population from many facilities and this in turn is radicalizing a section of young Muslims to become instrumental in the hands of IS to hit the western targets. Europe must address those problems and the western powers must unite to defeat the IS to end threats to global peace. Moreover aspersion to the Prophet of Islam by some ultra secularists is not exercising liberty, it is tantamount to inviting enmity of the Muslims provoking radicals to engage in terrorist acts.
We appreciate the observation of the President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in G-20 Summit when he said rejecting refugees after the Paris attacks would not be justified. He said the issue has become difficult but the shooters were criminals, not asylum seekers and punishing the innocent for others’ crime is not acceptable. His comment that any wrong response may end up in creating countless more terrorists and Europe must not play into the hands of the Islamic State (IS) outfits is equally statesman like. We believe that Europe would be able to overcome attempts to dump the refugee resettlement to end the human crisis.
