Muslims protest against the publication of a cartoon of Prophet Mohammad in France

NEW DELHI: Demonstrations in India against France and its President Emmanuel Macron are contrary to international consensus, and the recent brutal terrorist attacks in that country have implications for all democratic nations, 22 retired Indian ambassadors have said in a statement here. The group of former diplomats which included two retired foreign secretaries and four ex-Indian ambassadors to France, also asserted that India has rightly expressed solidarity with the "French president personally and France as a country with which the bilateral ties have remarkably deepened strategically in recent years."

"It is important to note that there is an international consensus reflected repeatedly in documents that no cause whatsoever justifies resort to terrorism. In this context demonstrations in India against France and President Macron are contrary to that international consensus, and government's position...," said the statement, signed by among others Kanwal Sibal, Shashank, Bhaswati Mukherjee Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty and Ruchi Ghanshyam.

The statement, issued on Saturday, said the recent brutal terrorist attacks in France by Islamic fundamentalists have implications for all democratic countries based on pluralism and rule of law.

India has been a victim of state-sponsored terrorism (from across the border) for decades and is especially sensitive to issues of terrorism, they said, adding under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has inscribed the issue of international terrorism as a threat to international peace and security, on the international and multilateral agenda.

Protests against president Macron and France were held in several parts of India, including in Mumbai and Bhopal, over the depiction of Prophet Muhammad in cartoons in the European country.

There have been a series of terror incidents In France in the last few days.

India had condemned these attacks and asserted that there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance. The external affairs ministry has also deplored the personal attacks against Macron following his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse.