Troubled times - Democracy must be protected

IF THE events in France and Turkey over the past few days have taught us anything it is the need to face the uncomfortable truth that democracy and peace must never be taken for granted and that it requires constant vigilence and nurturing to ensure the survival of both.

The slaughter in Nice in the name of Islam is a salutory reminder that fanatics will find a way to murder and terrorise and are indiscriminate in who they hurt. In fact, one of the first victims of the attack was a Muslim woman.

The attempted coup in Turkey shows how fragile democracy can be, particularly in a country that harbours religious and ethnic tensions.

“Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order” is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein, among others, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.

It is particularly relevant today.

We have not had a global war for more than 70 years, but the sad reality is that neither are we living in peaceful times.