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Daily Press Briefing Statements made by [Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]
MIDEAST
Let me reiterate the statement we distributed yesterday: “France expresses its very great concern following the Israeli military operation conducted today in two refugee camps in Gaza, in which 14 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians, lost their lives.
The cycle of violence in the Mideast must be ended. France renews its condemnation, in the strongest possible terms, of terrorism in all its forms. It calls on the parties once again to swiftly resume their dialogue in order to implement the road map.”
Let me reiterate the statement the foreign minister made on Friday evening: “France now has nearly 800 men in Haiti. It is therefore contributing fully, alongside other countries, to the interim multilateral force that is fulfilling the terms of SCR 1529. Placing its action on behalf of Haitian reconstruction in a long-term context, it will also take part, during a second phase, in the slated stabilization force, a civil force to maintain order. It wishes to extend its thanks to all the countries that will be lending their support, and notably to the countries of the region: Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, as well as the CARICOM countries.
In the immediate term, France is acting in concert, notably, with the United States of America, and shares its imperatives of optimal logistical coordination on the ground. It wishes to reiterate the spirit and context in which its action in Haiti is taking place—yesterday, today and tomorrow.
1. France’s only interest is the defense of Haitian democracy. It is obeying obligations proceeding from its own history as well as the standards that govern international democracy. As soon as the competent UN bodies cast their vote, it dispatched its contingent to the region.
2. France is acting in the service of the law and the general interest. Faced with an impasse, it called on all the parties to assume their responsibilities. It lent assistance to a people in danger in order to avoid the worst. It is not and will not be there to wage war on any party, but to better assure the country’s security, public calm and civil peace.
3. There as elsewhere, true to its principles, France is defending the sovereignty of the Haitian people when it comes to both decisions and appointments involving Haiti’s future. It will strive to defend the legitimacy of the political process in all circumstances. France therefore welcomes the formation of the Tripartite Council and reiterates its support for the implementation of the plan presented by CARICOM aimed at forming a transitional national unity government as swiftly as possible. The destiny of the Haitian people belongs to the Haitians and to them alone.
4. In this painful ordeal, defending human rights is a priority. With its contribution, France intends to promote respect for that primary human right, the right to personal security for all. This right, which requires the disarmament of uncontrolled elements, can be guaranteed only by economic and social development, to which our country intends to pay very special attention. In the immediate term, it requires the restoration of essential services and the distribution of emergency humanitarian aid.
5. France calls on all democratic forces in Haiti to mobilize. It goes without saying that France will not lend a hand, directly or indirectly, to any attempt at restoring an anti-democratic regime or returning to an unhappy past. It will, however, continue to assist all forces, to the extent they so wish, regardless of their political label, affinities or origin, that are working to establish a State governed by the rule of law, respectful of individual and public liberties and of the free expression of the popular vote within the framework set by the Constitution. It will be up to this lawful state to take all decisions to administer justice.
6. Given the gravity of the situation, the energizing of the Haitian people is crucial. France, like other representatives of the international community, can only open the path to a political and economic democracy. It is up to the Haitian people as a whole, in all its parts, to mobilize and assume its responsibilities. Let it rest assured that in this long-term effort, France will remain at its side.”
As soon as the cyclone Gafilo hit Madagascar, President Chirac and the foreign minister sent messages of solidarity and measures were immediately taken by the Foreign Ministry.
An assessment mission left Réunion Island this morning. It included four experts: An emergency physician, an air force officer, an officer from the fire department and a lieutenant colonel charged with local civilian security. In order to respond as quickly as possible to the request for emergency humanitarian aid issued by the Madagascan authorities, the Defense Ministry made a Transall aircraft available on Rénion Island in order to transport, as quickly as possible, an initial humanitarian aid shipment of tents, blankets, tarps and water treatment products. This equipment comes from stocks from the Foreign Ministry’s humanitarian action delegation pre-positioned on Réunion.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY/AFGHANISTAN
On this International Women’s Day, France wishes to share its deep concern following repeated attacks against girls’ schools in Afghanistan by various radical groups, as the UN spokesperson indicated in Kabul yesterday. France repeats that the right to education is a universal right that allows for no exceptions. Furthermore, as you know, with regard to Afghanistan, school-age girls have suffered a double handicap, with years of war followed by the establishment of a regime that was particularly oppressive to women, notably with regard to their right to obtain an education. In this context, France will continue to actively support the efforts of civil society and the Afghan authorities on behalf of women. We are working in particular to educate Afghan girls through the Malalai Lycée for Girls. Let me remind you, finally, that France is also financing several community and training centers to improve the material situation of women in Kabul and in different provincial towns.
Q – Is France currently involved in a military mission in Afghanistan? If so, what kind?
French military troops are indeed deployed in Afghanistan, both as part of ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force) and operation “Enduring Freedom.”
Q – What is the status of French nationals being held prisoner in Guantanamo, since the mission to the base last January? Does France support the lobbying efforts we’ve seen in recent days in Washington by families of French and British prisoners?
As I noted in my press briefing of February 20, we are pursuing our contacts and, in particular, are proceeding with information exchanges with the American authorities, to whom we are constantly emphasizing the need for all detainees in Guantanamo to benefit from all the guarantees provided by international law.
More particularly, we are asking that French detainees, should they be judged, be tried by the courts, preferably in France. We hope these detainees may return to their countries and that their situation will be examined there within the appropriate legal framework.
As for the question about the families of the prisoners, we have had contacts with them and are informed of their efforts in the United States.
Q – Do you have any reaction to the signing of the Iraqi interim constitution that took place today?
We hope the adoption of this basic law will help consolidate the process of restoring sovereignty and establish a State under the rule of law in Iraq./.
Embassy of France, March 8, 2004
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