Marchers denounce terrorism at Paris rally

Paris It was the first ever for France An unprecedented flood of people headed by leaders from Europe and other countries streamed in Paris Sunday to protest indignantly against terrorism and racism after 17 people were killed during three days of attacks in the French capitalIm Charlie We are not afraid wrote protesters on banners waving flags of France and many other countries who took the capitals streets in an unprecedented tribute to the shootings victimsFrench citizens living in Quito take part in a demonstration at the Alliance Francaise on January 11 2015 in tribute to the 17 victims of a threeday killing spree by homegrown Islamists PicAFPAccording to one of the organisers about 15 million people participated in Sundays march in ParisWith white bandanas on their heads spelt out the names of those killed in the threeday violence the families of the victims led the huge rally headed off form the Square of the Republique They were followed by French President Francois Hollande and world leadersThis afternoon Paris will be the worlds capital of the resistance against terrorism and of the defence of freedom It will be really a world march for freedom French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reportersThere are representatives from all over the world because the cause of the march is global he addedAmong those who attended the march were German Chancellor Angela Merkel British Prime Minister David Cameron Matteo Renzi of Italy Mariano Rajoy of Spain and European Commission President JeanClaude JunckerIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas were also in the list of participantsArab League representatives and some Muslim Arab and African leaders as well as Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also attended the marchRepresented by his attorney general US President Barack Obama expressed his countrys support I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today stands with you tomorrow he saidFollowing heavy loss of life over threeday heartwrenching bloodshed in three separate attacks respectively at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo at a kosher supermarket and on police French authorities are trying to prevent a rise in antiIslam feelings and antiimmigrant sentimentWe are in a war against terrorism We are not in a war against religion against a civilisation French Prime Minister Manuel Valls saidWhat are terrorists looking for To create fear to pit the French against each other and we must be stronger than that he addedMuslims are not extremists We are Muslims but we are against this barbarism Thats why its important to be there today to express our indignation Adel Ounaies an employee at a private transport company told XinhuaUnder a sunny winter day hundreds thousands of people flocked to the square of the Republique to back the nation unity in face of terror threatsWe are Jewish We are Christians We are Muslims We are French Lets not make religion a fact of division Lets try to live in peace together in respect of principles of equality and solidarity to have better future in which terrorism has no place pleaded AnneMarie one of the participants in the rallyVeteran politicians from the left and right camps government members journalists artists also joined the rally which had implied a huge security operation to secure participants safetySome 2200 policemen and 1500 military officers were deployed Sunday and snipers were also positioned on rooftopsThousands of policemen have already been guarding synagogues mosques schools and other sites around France after Wednesdays attack at a satirical weekly magazine by two brothers claiming links with Al Qaeda in Yemen Ten Journalists and two policemen were killed in the shootingCherif and Said Kouachi were killed Friday afternoon in an assault by French security forceIn a second siege in east Paris raids units killed Amedy Coulibaly who shot dead a policewoman at Montrouge on the southern edge of Paris Thursday and took several hostages and killed four of them in a Jewish supermarket Friday