11/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Call for rights of Christians to be protected. On Wednesday 9 May, Polish MEPs Konrad Szymanski (ECR) and Jan Olbrycht (EPP) called on the EU to do more to ensure the rights of Christians are protected in the Arab world. “The EU, if it wishes to remain credible as a defender of human rights, has to take a clear stance in defence of Christians in the Middle East. We demand reactions to every single act of discrimination and also expect that this problem is always present in political or trade talks between the EU and the Arab World”, said Szymanski. Europe, he went on, supported democratic change and must, now, assume responsibility for the Christians in the Middle East. The EU cannot stand idly by in the face of the religious cleansing in the region, he argued. “The European Union … shall condition its involvement upon the respect for democratic rules, such as religious freedom”, said Olbrycht. (CG/transl.rt)