Italian minister receives European support against racism

Belgium's deputy prime minister Joëlle Milquet joined cabinet ministers from more than a dozen European countries at Rome’s Palazzo Chigi yesterday in a show of support for Italy's first black cabinet minister, who has been attacked with racist taunts ever since she was appointed in April. The ministers signed a declaration condemning racism as anathema to Europe's democratic principles. They said the attacks that Cécile Kyenge has been subjected to were unacceptable and must stop immediately, particularly since they have come from fellow politicians. Members of Italy's xenophobic Northern League party have called the Congolese-born Kyenge, among other things, a "Congolese monkey". Milquet sponsored the initiative after deciding the attacks against Kyenge couldn't go unanswered. She said she was pleasantly surprised that so many countries quickly agreed to support Kyenge and sign the declaration, which also calls for a broader European pact against racism to be launched in January.

(AP)