80

Friday, August 2, 1985

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Speaking Out
For All Victims

We are forbidden to stand
aside. If we turn our heads, we
admit our guilt.

BY ELIE WIESEL

Contributing Editor

. e

An important conference on
the rights and liberties of men
and women was held at the
end of May in Paris. More
than 100 foreign and French
intellectuals participated in it.
Some of them are world
famous: Bishop Tutu, Mother
Theresa, Perez Esquibal of
Argentina, Alberto Moravia of
Italy, Yashar Kemal of Tur-
key. Organized by the Prime
Minister Laurent Fabius, the
event could not help but draw
the attention of the general
public.
The program contained,
moreover, a cultural and ar-
tistic performance intended for
the whole French population:
President Francois Mitterand
named the famous Place of
Trocadero "Place of Liberties
and Rights of Man." Broad-
cast live on television, the pro-
gram included songs and
dances and speeches. The
former President of Senegal,
Leopold Senghor, read a poem;
the widow Allende of Chile
spoke of her hope; a Jewish
novelist recounted the story of
Cain, our ancestor, who, hav-
ing assassinated his brother
Abel, began to construct
cities. In order to forget? to
remember? to atone? In order
perhaps to explain this to us:
he who kills, kills his brother.
American singers, African
dancers, the French National
Orchestra: the program as a
whole emphasized the need for
brotherhood and justice
throughout the world.

The debates themselves
often unfolded in an impas-
sioned, lofty atmosphere. The
President of Parliament, sev-
eral ministers, professors, and
writers took part in them.
Nonetheless, an important
absentee dominated the dis-
cussions: Lech Walesa. He
wanted to come, he was to
have come: the French gov-
ernment, at its highest level,
had interceded on his behalf in
Warsaw. Unfortunately, the
Polish authorities opposed it.
To no avail. For Walesa,
through his legend ad his ex-
ample, was present. All the
speakers made reference to
him and to his valiant strug-
gle for freedom.
There were many speeches.
Of course. That's what a sym-
posium is for. Assembled in
three groups, participants had
numerous opportunities to ex-
press themselves on burning
issues close to their hearts:
Poland, South Africa, and
Latin America. Someone cited
an astonishing statistic. There
exist, it seems, 2,000 groups or
organizations working for hu-
man rights. This means the
world is in bad shape. Sover-
eignty and human dignity are
violated in Fascist countries,
as well as in Communist coun-
tries. Torture no longer recog-
nizes racial or religious fron-
tiers. Neither does humiliation.
Nor hunger.
What hurts, in the face of so
much spontaneous and organ-

Continued on Page 58

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