MRAP (organization)
TheMouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples(MRAP;Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples) is a FrenchNGOwhich describes itself asanti-racist.It was founded in 1949.[1]
Origins and name changes
[edit]
In 1941, theMouvement national contre le racisme(MNCR, the "National Movement Against Racism" ) was created by several members of theFrench Resistancewho believed that a specific struggle againstracismwas a crucial part of France's liberation fromGerman occupation.One of their primary goals was to save as many Jewish children as possible fromdeportation.The movement coordinated its actions with theProtestantandCatholic Church.Two clandestinenewspapers,J'accusein theNorth zoneandFraternitéin theSouth zone,were established to counter the racist ideology of theNazisand theVichy state.
On May 22, 1949, several MNCR members, including the painterMarc Chagalland theSocial CatholicleaderMarc Sangnier,created theMouvement contre le racisme, l'antisémitisme et pour la paix(Movement Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and for Peace). The group emphasized the role of anti-racism within their larger critique ofneo-nazism,antisemitism,and the largerCold War.[2]
The group was renamed theMouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'Amitié entre les Peuplesin 1972, the name it is still known as today.
Postwar activism
[edit]After WWII, the MRAP targeted its anti-racist activism to support anti-colonialism within the ongoing Frenchwars of decolonization.They opposed theAlgerian War(1954–62) and were one of the few organizations to condemn the methods of thepolice prefectMaurice Paponand theParis massacre of 1961.
In 1951, the group advocated in support of sixteen accusedMartinicansugar cane cutters during the unsolved French criminal case known as theAffaire des 16 de Basse Pointe.
The MRAP also critiqued the nature of the French economy's dependence onimmigrantlabor during the period of economic growth known as theTrente Glorieuses(1945 to 1974).
On January 6, 1956, at theHôtel Lutetiain Paris, the MRAP award was given toJules Isaacto recognize the “great impact” against antisemitism made by Isaac's two booksJésus et Israël(Jesus and Israel) andGenèse de l'antisémitisme(Genesis of Antisemitism).
The MRAP supported thePleven Actof July 1, 1972, which condemns incitations to racial hate and permits anti-racist associations to depose court suits against those who commit suchhate speech.
The MRAP was also engaged in international issues. It was active againstapartheid in South Africaand within the struggle againstracism in the United States(in particular by defendingBlack PanthersmemberMumia Abu-Jamal).
Recent activities
[edit]Mouloud Aounit was its first general secretary (1989–2004), then president (2004–2008), then member of the presidential college (2008–2011) to not to belong to theFrench Communist Party(PCF).
Despite dropping the term from its name in 1972, the MRAP continues to be engaged againstantisemitism.They group also defends the rights of immigrants,Romani peoples,and other forms of racism. It is also engaged in actions against the right andfar right.Currently, it concentrates its action against immigration-restricting laws and in favor of immigrants' rights, as well as denunciation of racism on the internet and againsthistorical revisionism(courtsuit deposed againstBruno Gollnisch,member of theFront National).[3]
In some cases, it has also criticized theSocialist Party,criticizingSégolène Royal,the Socialist contender for the2007 presidential election,when she released her program on security issues, stating that she was engaging in the "most dangerous kind ofpopulism".[4]
The MRAP was engaged in the creation of thealter-globalizationNGOATTACin 1998.[citation needed]
In 2006, the MRAP came to the defense of two women wearing headscarves who were refused service at a bed and breakfast inVosges.The operator of the establishment,Fanny Truchelut,was successfully sued for the refusal to provide a good or a service based on personal discrimination.[5]
Opposition to genetic studies
[edit]The organization has voiced opposition togenetic studiesbeing carried out in France, following advances in science and the discovery ofDNAwhich now allows scientists to identify whichY-haplogroupa person or group belongs to. In the summer of 2015, a group of British scientists from theUniversity of Leicesterwished to study the DNA of around a hundred local volunteers from theCotentin PeninsulainNormandy,to find out “the intensity of the Scandinavian colonisation” from the 9th centuryVikinginvasions. Despite the French state agreeing to this, MRAP and local member Jacques Declosmenil attempted to obstruct the scientific study, saying that the scientific results "will build on the idea that there are realNormansand fake Normans. "[6]
Image gallery
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Opening gala for the first MRAP Congress (1949). -
Charles Palant (1949), former chairman of the Youth committee ofLICRA,who became one of the founders of MRAP in 1949, and its General Secretary from 1950 to 1971. -
On September 19, 1949, the newspaperDroit et Liberté(Right and Freedom) becomes the propaganda organ of MRAP.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples".mrap.fr.
- ^André Kaspi,Jules Isaac ou la Passion de la Vérité(Plon, 2002), 239-241.
- ^"Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l'Homme".2004-07-03. Archived fromthe originalon 2004-07-03.Retrieved2019-06-05.
- ^MRAP press releaseArchived2006-09-07 at theWayback Machine,June 1, 2006 (URL accessed on July 12, 2006)
- ^Winter, Bronwyn (2009).Hijab and the Republic: Uncovering the French Headscarf Debate.Syracuse University Press. p. 332.ISBN978-0-8156-5132-1.
- ^"Hunt for Viking DNA among Normandy residents riles anti-racism activists".The Guardian.June 16, 2015.RetrievedDecember 31,2017.
External links
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