Abant Platform calls for ‘respect for sacred’ in Africa meeting
Date posted: March 12, 2014
ADDIS ABABA
The 32nd Abant Platform, which took place in Addis Ababa over the weekend, confirmed its commitment to the respect for sacred values and the encouragement of freedom of religion by international and regional organizations.
In a joint meeting with the African Union, the Abant Platform hosted 155 distinguished participants from 15 countries in the capital of Ethiopia.
The United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) decision on the struggle against intolerance toward different religions was a common talking point at the meeting to promote respect for the sacred. The Abant Platform said that freedom of expression and respect for sacred values are complimentary and that the former does not mean the freedom to attack sacred values.
The Abant Platform also urged the media to play a constructive role in the protection of respect for sacred values and called on all governments, nongovernmental organizations and civil society institutions to take a stance defending respect for the sacred.
If a statement appearing in the Cumhuriyet daily, where the prime minister was quoted as saying that the “money used [in corruption] belongs to the state, not the people” reflects the truth, then this is a clear acknowledgement of wrongdoing.
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