UN Chief Calls for ‘Standing Up’ against Racism, Xenophobia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for confronting racism and xenophobia after the weekend violence in the US city of Charlottesville, Virginia.
On Tuesday, UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq had said that the United Nations condemned racism and discrimination in connection with the violence in Charlottesville.
"Racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism & Islamophobia are poisoning our societies. We must stand up against them. Every time. Everywhere," Guterres said on Twitter, Sputnik reported.
On Saturday, white nationalists held a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest authorities' plans to remove a monument of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park.
The rally subsequently led to clashes and culminated in the car ramming attack that killed one person and injured 19 others. In addition, two police officers died en route to the scene of the violence when their helicopter crashed.
US President Donald Trump condemned Saturday the violence at the Charlottesville rally, stating that the events were a "display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides." Two days later, Trump directly condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists for the outbreak of violence.
