New Delhi: India on Wednesday criticised “personal attacks” on French President Emmanuel Macron as violating standards of international discourse and asserted that terrorism has no justification “for any reason or under any circumstance”.
“We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse,” said a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
On October 16, a French schoolteacher named Samuel Paty was beheaded for allegedly showing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in his class. The suspect, a Chechen-origin teen, was shot by the French police.
Following the incident, there had been a massive outpouring in outrage in France, with authorities leading a crackdown against Muslim individuals and groups accused of extremism.
On October 21, Macron took part in a ceremony to mourn Paty, where he asserted that France “will not give up cartoons”. He claimed that Paty was slain for representing secular and democratic values. “Samuel Paty became the face of the Republic on Friday,” he said.
His words led to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call for a “mental check” on Macron. “What problem does this person called Macron have with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level,” Erdogan said in a speech. France subsequently recalled its ambassador to Ankara.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan also accused Macron of “creating further polarisation and marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation”.
Erdogan also called for a boycott of French goods, which has been reported from several parts of West Asia and other parts of the world. Since then, some other Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan, have criticised Macron and accused him of fomenting Islamophobia.
The Indian statement issued on Wednesday night also denounced the fatal attack on Paty. “We also condemn the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher in a gruesome manner that has shocked the world. We offer our condolences to his family and the people of France. There is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance.”
The French ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain thanked India for the words of support through his twitter account.