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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.]
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT/ JOHANNESBURG
The fourth and last session of the preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, will meet in Bali from May 23 to June 7. The session will include a ministerial-level meeting from June 5 to 7. France will be represented by Tokia Saïfi, Secretary of State for Sustainable Development.
The purpose of the preparatory committee meeting will be to negotiate an action plan and prepare the political declaration of heads of state and government to be adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, August 26-September 4).
The summit is expected to restate the commitment at the highest political level of heads of state and government to support the principles of sustainable development adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and to launch concrete initiatives in support of its implementation, goals that France and its EU partners are actively contributing to in the context of the preparatory process.
We condemn the assassination in Srinagar yesterday of Abdul Ghani Lone, a pro- independence leader who favored a peaceful and political solution to the conflict in Kashmir which we support.
Q - Is France prepared, in the context of the G7, to prevent weapons of mass from getting into the hands of terrorists by participating in the American plan to help Russia ramp up security at its nuclear power plants, speed up the neutralization of its nuclear weapons and create jobs for its unemployed nuclear engineers?
This is an important issue which is under discussion in the G7, in association with Russia. France supports all efforts to mobilize the international community to action against proliferation in general, and especially in Russia and the CIS members.
Q - How would France contribute to this plan which it's estimated will cost $20 billion over the next ten years?
As part of the G7 efforts to address proliferation in Russia, France has already set in train programs of assistance to Russia in this area.
Q - Has France been given new information about the French nationals who are still detained at Guantanamo Bay? Given the time they have already spent in detention, do you intend to ask for their release?
I have no further information since the mission in March on the French nationals being held at the Guantanamo base.
As we have said repeatedly, we informed the American authorities that if the detainees have committed acts punishable under French criminal law, they should be tried in France.
As you know, we also indicated back on January 15 that these detainees, regardless of their status and nationality, should be treated in accordance with the guarantees of international law.
Q - Can you tell us exactly how many French citizens are there and how long they've been held?
Six. Nearly six months in the case of the first two transferred to the base.
Q - Can you confirm that France will close the Sangatte refugee center if Britain promises to take all those who are there now?
Leaving aside the hypothetical nature of your question, I want to state emphatically that this matter is getting the full attention of the French authorities concerned. In this regard, Nicolas Sarkozy and his British counterpart David Blunkett discussed the problem of illegal immigration in the Pas de Calais at length yesterday on the phone. They agreed to meet shortly, in Paris in June and in London in July. As the French Interior Ministry indicated in a communiqué issued yesterday, the purpose of these two meetings will be to establish a common approach in the long term based on a concerted community approach on asylum and immigration. For more information on this issue, I refer you to the Interior Ministry's website (www.interieur.gouv.fr)./.
Embassy of France, May 22, 2002
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