Rights groups protest planned Le Pen visit to Poland

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 13:38:46 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: Rights groups protest planned Le Pen visit to Poland

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Rafal Pankowski <[email protected]>

Rights groups protest planned Le Pen visit to Poland 


26-04-2001 18:56
Poland-LePen
 
European rights groups protest planned Le Pen visit to Poland. Warsaw
(dpa) - 
Human rights organisations from 13 European countries Thursday
protested against the prospect of a visit by the leader of France's
far-right National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen, to the Polish parliament,
a statement from Poland's Never Again anti- racist association said.

"No self-respecting democratic political groups can cooperate with Le
Pen's racist and xenophobic party," the statement said.

Le Pen has been invited to Poland by a small coalition of right-wing
Polish MPs. A spokeperson Thursday declined to reveal exactly when the
visit might take place, saying only that the National Front leader was
expected to arrive before summer.

Le Pen lost his seat in the European Parliament after he was convicted
of physically attacking a female rival candidate during a 1997
election campaign.

His party has also been linked to racist attacks on members of ethnic
minority communities in France.

Anti-racism and human rights organisations from Sweden, France,
Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Austria, Spain and Romania among others
joined Poland's Never Again in protesting Le Pen's impending arrival.

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