The Controversy Surrounding the law on the Positive Role of the French Essay

The Controversy Surrounding the law on the Positive Role of the French Presence Overseas - Essay Example This law, otherwise known as the 'February 23, 2005' law, was passed quietly in February of 2005, but came to prominence in the autumn when there was an overwhelming vote by conservative deputies against a bid to revoke the phrase. This touched off on a debate about whether France, whose empire ended in bloody wars in Indochina and Algeria, had learnt from its colonial experience. The trouble started in February when lawmakers quietly slipped a clause into a bill requiring schools to "recognize in particular the positive character of the French overseas presence, notably in North Africa." Some of the key players in this situation would be: President Jacques Chirac of Paris, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Gilles Manceron, and Olivier Petre-Grenouilleau - a respected historian who was accused of making statements in an interview which implied that the slave trade was not a crime against humanity. (In fact, he said that it didn't constitute genocide). Gilles Manceron noted that for some historians, the treatment of the harkis exemplifies how France has basically failed to deal with aspects of its past, saying "The state put them in military camps or in isolated camps in forests, cut off from the rest of the French population. This isolation is comparable to the treatment of indigenous people in the colonies." (Gehmlich, 2006). Hamlaoui Mekachera, junior minister for veterans' affairs who is also of Algerian origin and in fact actually fought for the French army during the Algerian war, praised the law, saying it was "a historic moment for people of all origins who have been repatriated." He went on to say, "The current debate must not allow us to forget the real range of measures (the law) contains." (Geimlich, 2006). Who Wants a Repeal of the law and who Does not, and why More than 1000 historians, writers and intellectuals have signed a petition demanding the repeal of this law. "In retaining only the positive aspects of colonialism this law imposes an official lie on massacres that at times went as far as genocide on the slave trade, and on the racism that France has inherited," says the petition, which has also been signed by one of France's best-loved humorists, Guy Bedos, and a leading film director, Patrice Chereau. The principal objection to the law is

Encounter Point Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Encounter Point - Movie Review Example The issues of land and water are especially important factors since the region in which these countries lie has arid and semi arid conditions. Due to inadequacy of water, there has been a struggle concerning the control of water sources (Tesssler 67). Another factor that has contributed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the Muslim insurgency in the region. Most attacks in the Middle East are terrorist attacks whereby Israelis face growing attacks from insurgent militias and terrorist groups from all countries in the region in support of Palestine. In response, Israeli retaliates with attacks also. This has ensured that the Palestine-Israeli conflict has persisted for years despite efforts by the international community to quail the violence. However, the International community seems to favor Israel and this has worsened the peace in the region since the Arab world feels that Palestine is being fairly untreated. Despite numerous peace accords and ventures, the insurgency seems to be rising and enmity between these two states worsens. However, those that suffer are the civilians. Most of the attacks in the conflict are directed at villages, railway terminals, bus terminals, churches, and mosques etc, where many people assembl e. This has led to death and suffering of very many civilian Palestinians and Israeli (Tessler 68). This movie is based on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whereby people have decided to use non violent means to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. People have decided that since it is civilians who suffer in the conflict, it is civilians themselves who can ensure that such conflict is suppressed so that peace prevails. The producers spent a total of 4 years in coming up with this documentary. Encounter movie examines the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in detail by analyzing the lives of various