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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.]
PAKISTAN
Q - Do you have any news about the French journalist arrested in Pakistan and Afghanistan?
We can confirm that Aziz Zemouri, a journalist for Figaro Magazine, was released this morning by the Pakistani authorities. May I remind you that he was held for questioning last Thursday after trying to cross the border with Afghanistan illegally.
Over the past few days, we have been in constant contact with the Pakistani authorities naturally to speed up his release. In principle, Mr. Zemouri was to go to Islamabad this afternoon and return to France on the first available flight. It goes without saying also that we have been in close contact throughout with both the management of the publication and our fellow citizen's family.
Q - What about the Paris-Match journalist who's a prisoner of the Taliban?
I can only confirm what I've already told you. We are continuing our efforts. We are doing everything to get him back to France safe and sound.
As we told you on Friday, Foreign Minister Védrine attended a conference of French and Italian ambassadors in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya that was held in Rome yesterday. As you know, the principle of a conference for the ambassadors was agreed on at the last French-Italian summit in Turin and obviously, given the present situation, the meeting took on a very special import, special interest. The meeting and the ambassadors' work showed that the views and analyses of the two countries' diplomats converge to a very great extent. Also discussed were reforms, security and stability in the western Mediterranean. Mr. Védrine and Mr. Ruggiero discussed in particular support for the integration of the Maghreb and the importance that both countries' foreign ministers give to mobilizing the Meda II programs in the context of the aims of the Barcelona process to which more attention must be paid.
I should also like to brief you on the working meeting between Mr. Fischer and Mr. Védrine in Munich last night. As we told you, the Munich meeting is part of the regular relations between the two foreign ministers launched on January 31 at Blaesheim at the meeting between the president, the prime minister, the German chancellor and the two foreign ministers. The meeting in Munich yesterday and this morning was an opportunity for the two foreign ministers to discuss a number of major international issues and also place their exchange of views, their work, in the context of the upcoming European councils in Gand and Laeken.
Four main subjects were discussed at the meeting:
- The international situation, especially in light of the strikes against Afghanistan. Two points were made in particular by the two ministers:
- they would like humanitarian action to be more coordinated;
- they want to work together to find a political solution for the future Afghanistan.
- European questions. The two ministers reviewed the progress that has been made by the Fifteen in security, judicial cooperation and terrorist financing. With a view to the upcoming European meetings, especially the European council in Laeken, they discussed the organization of the future convention that will have its place in the debate on the future of Europe;
- The situation in the Balkans. You will recall that Mr. Védrine went to Albania and Kosovo last Friday. The two ministers agreed that the international community should continue its efforts in the region, especially in Macedonia. With regard to that country, they emphasized the need to respect and implement the Orhid Accords which were signed by the various parties in Macedonia. They also discussed relations between all the Balkan countries and the European Union. You know that this is a question on which we're very active at the national level, with our German partners and in the EU, especially since the Zagreb summit a year ago, under the French presidency of the European Union;
- Globalization. At the last meeting of the five, it was decided in principle to set up a Franco-German working group on globalization. This group and the subjects for discussion in the group were considered by the two ministers yesterday evening. They agreed on the agenda for the working group which in principle is to begin its work soon. There are several points which the group on globalization will focus on, namely: the environment, the social, the cultural, capital markets, bioethics and development. These are cross-disciplinary themes on which consultations and joint work by France and Germany will be developed in the context of this group.
As you know, at the special European council on September 21 in Brussels, EU heads of state and government gave the 15 foreign ministers at the GAC what you might call a "route map" for cooperation among the Fifteen in actions to counter terrorism.
The next stage will be the European council in Gand which is to be held at the weekend. As you know, there've been a number of councils in the past several days which met in various formations: JHA council, ECOFIN council, ECOFIN-Justice meeting, the transport councils. All these councils devoted a good part of their time, within the various areas of jurisdiction of the ministers concerned, to strengthening cooperation among the Fifteen in the fight against terrorism.
Tomorrow's special GAC is within the same framework. On the basis of the route map agreed on on September 21, the GAC will review the work in the various groupings of the council in order to prepare a report for the European council in Gand.
Ministers will devote the second part of their work to international questions, particularly in the context of the strikes against Afghanistan. Two issues in particular will be examined: one, the problem of humanitarian action; and two, the problem of actions to be carried out in countries neighboring on Afghanistan and in the Moslem world as part of the efforts by the international community to mobilize against terrorism.
I would like to draw your attention to an important visit, an important subject, which heavily involved the international community, France in particular.
José Ramos-Horta, Foreign Minister of the East Timor transitional cabinet, will visit Paris from October 18 to 20, 2001.
The visit is part of a tour that is to take him to the United States and to several European capitals.
I'd like to add that Mr. Ramos-Horta will meet with Foreign Minister Védrine on Friday, October 19 at 10:00 a.m.
The visit affords France an opportunity to welcome the significant progress made by East Timor since the August 30, 1999 referendum, to welcome also the peaceable campaign for elections to the constituent assembly on August 30, 2001, and to renew its support to the new East Timorese transitional government formed on September 20 by Mr. Veira de Mello, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for East Timor. France will pay tribute to the U.N.'s considerable work in East Timor since UNTAET (U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor) was set up in October 1999, paving the way for a return to normal in that country. France will also reiterate its support to the future Timorese state. The visit will allow us to exchange views with our guest on international assistance to East Timor after independence.
Mr. Ramos-Horta was asked to stay on as foreign minister in the transitional cabinet on September 20 until the government is formed. I'd like to remind you that he is an important figure in East Timor. During the years the territory was occupied by Indonesia, he lived in exile in the United States and Australia. And you will remember that in 1996 he won the Nobel Prize for peace along with Bishop Belo of Dili.
Lastly, I want to draw your attention to the press conference that Mr. Ramos-Horta will hold at the Foreign Press Center (CAPE) on Friday, October 19 at 4:30 p.m.
On Thursday the 18th and Friday the 19th, the seventh session of the Franco-Indian Initiatives Forum will meet at the International Conference Center on the Avenue Kléber.
The Franco-Indian Initiatives Forum was set up in January 1998 during President Chirac's state visit to India. The aim of the Forum, its raison d'être, is to nurture and diversify Franco-Indian relations. Its establishment also reflected a wish to closely involve representatives of French and Indian civil society in the development of the partnership between our two countries.
On the French side, the Forum is chaired by Jean-François Poncet, former foreign minister, and for the Indians, by Ramakrishna Hegde, former trade minister.
At previous meetings, the Forum has come up with various initiatives now being implemented, particularly in water-resource management, in the agro-food domain, in exchanges between researchers and students, in the new information and communications technologies, the pure sciences and the cultural sphere.
In the future, the Forum will be studying actions to strengthen trade between our two countries.
The Forum was also behind the initiative for the colloquium, "France and India in the 21st Century," which will be held on October 20.
Several themes will be addressed during the various working sessions: the environment, in particular water to review current actions; the proposed "Journée de l'Inde" in France, issues pertaining to the media, the cinema, television, projects in the agro-food domain, science and basic research, the new information technologies, society and culture. At 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, participants in the Forum will meet with Mr. Josselin, Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophony.
Q - What do you think of the Dakar conference on terrorism?
President Wade had proposed to his African partners a draft pact on terrorism. The Senegalese foreign minister outlined the project to Charles Josselin at the beginning of October when he was coming through Paris. France believes that the initiative is timely insofar as it can involve Africa more closely in the international action against terrorism. We consider of course that it is up to the Africans themselves to decide on the practical aspects.
Like several other countries, France has been invited to be an observer by the conference organizers, and for the Foreign Ministry it is Pierre Charasse, ambassador at large whose area of expertise is transnational crime, who will be France's observer at the conference.
Q - Saudi banker Yassin al Qadi, who seems to be bin Laden's main financial backer, has proved that bin Laden has interests in a Texas company in which the Bush family has interests. Can you confirm this and tell us if you really consider that President Bush is the appropriate man to be leading a fight against terrorism, against money-laundering?
About the eventual financial presence of the bin Laden network in the U.S., and especially in Texas:
First, I have no information on the subject. Second, your question is pertinent, notwithstanding, because it gives me an opportunity once again to emphasize France's commitment to having terrorist financing addressed. Thirdly, with regard to the second part of your question, I will limit myself to replying that we are cooperating with our American partners in all areas and in action against terrorism, and it is going perfectly smoothly as far as we are concerned.
Q - Mr. Sharon has said he intends to continue the policy of targeted assassinations against Palestinian leaders. What's your view?
We continue to condemn these practices. They are unacceptable.
Q - Do you have anything to say about the situation between the Palestinians and Israel? There are reportedly internal problems in Mr. Sharon's cabinet. What initiatives might be introduced in the days and weeks ahead? Was the question discussed at last night's dinner between Mr. Fischer and Mr. Védrine?
I will of course make no comment concerning what happens in Mr. Sharon's government. But as for the general situation, I think we are continuing to see a fairly perceptible decline in incidents in the Middle East over the past few days. We hope that this trend holds, that the parties do everything to prevent those who would like to stop the trend from achieving their objectives. And of course we hope that the contacts between Israelis and Palestinians continue, whatever the forms, whatever the practical aspects so that little by little dialogue resumes. In that context, it goes without saying that we attach the utmost importance to another meeting between Mr. Peres and Mr. Arafat. That would also be a very encouraging sign.
Q - Were you surprised by Tony Blair's statements supporting a Palestinian state? In your view, it that a reversal of British policy and why?
I was not particularly surprised by these statements. May I remind you that the Europeans, who include the British, adopted an important declaration on the Palestinian state in Berlin in 1999. So the Europeans have had that position for three years. I also want to remind you that we have welcomed the U.S. president's statements on this issue which goes in the same direction. Finally, with regard to France, we have long urged the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Q - Does the British initiative, the Blair-Arafat meeting, mean something European or is it an American turn-around adopted by the British?
We welcome the fact that the U.S. administration is now more engaged in the Middle East.
Q - About Kashmir. Do you have any comment on the Indian attacks?
Let me say that we have stated our position many times in favor of a peaceful and negotiated solution in Kashmir between India and Pakistan in the spirit of the Simla Accords.
We reiterate this appeal for dialogue. France calls on India and Pakistan to observe the greatest possible restraint in Kashmir and to avoid any action that might contribute to the region's destabilization.
Q - This morning, the U.S. secretary of state said he could conceive of moderate Taliban elements being part of a unity government in Afghanistan. Does France share the idea that it is possible to negotiate with the Taliban?
In a general way, I'd like to remind you of France's position which has been stated many times, and is given in the documents that have been handed out.
Our position consists on one hand of mulling over ideas and preparing for the country's future. It is important to involve all our partners in a six-point plan of action that we have been widely circulating. The plan is based on three types of actions, linked among themselves:
- humanitarian action and consequently mobilizing the international community to help the Afghan people who have suffered a lot;
- organizing a political transition;
- third, the country's reconstruction.
With regard to the political transition, what we're trying to do is to intensify coordination and develop international ideas to prevent there being a power vacuum in Kabul. But we also want the Afghans themselves to take their future in hand. It is not for us in France, in Europe, to tell them which Afghans should be in power. The Afghans have to decide for themselves, without foreign interference.
On the other hand, our responsibility, and this is what France has begun to do, is precisely to support this movement, to mobilize all our partners, especially in Europe, but of course others, the Americans, the U.N., the Russians, etc. to support this idea, that when the time comes the Afghans will have to decide themselves to take their future in hand and will also be able to count on international help and support./.
Embassy of France, October 16, 2001
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