Meeting between the Ministre d’Etat and Mr. Augustine Mahiga
Palestinian Territories
Algeria
Central African Republic
Meeting between the Ministre d’Etat and Mr. Augustine Mahiga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia (February 15)
Mr. Augustine Mahiga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia will visit France tomorrow. He will be received at the Quai d’Orsay on Tuesday, February 15 by the Ministre d’Etat, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
A few months before the transition period initiated by the Djibouti Agreement is due to end in August 2011, this meeting will be an opportunity for Mrs. Alliot-Marie to reaffirm France’s determination to make progress towards peace in Somalia. France remains attached to the continuation of a comprehensive political process conducted with the support of the United Nations. Mrs. Alliot-Marie will reaffirm France’s determination to ensure that the presence and the consistency of action of the UN agencies working to promote development in Somalia are strengthened.
France and Europe play a key role in supporting the Palestinian Authorities and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, whose leadership is extremely valued by Paris. As such, did Mr. Fayyad inform you of his plans to resign when he was here at the beginning of the month and what is your reaction to these plans which were revealed this morning?
Palestinian domestic policy is the responsibility of the Palestinians alone.
During his official visit to France from February 3 to 4, 2011, the Palestinian prime minister and the French authorities addressed the overall situation in the Palestinian Territories, the implementation of the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan, the continuation of the peace process and the prospect of the 2nd Donors’ Conference.
On this occasion we pay tribute to Salam Fayyad’s work to promote the development of the Palestinian institutions, which constitutes the greatest achievement in support of the creation of a Palestinian State since the Annapolis Conference.
Is France, like Germany, urging the Algerian government not to use violence against the demonstrators that are not authorized to march, and to allow the free expression of their demands in support of the democratic process?
Regarding the demonstrations in Algiers and in certain major cities, what is important for us is that the freedom of expression be respected and that the demonstrations be allowed to take place freely and without violence.
We have taken note of all of the decisions announced at the Council of Ministers meeting on February 3 in Algeria, in particular the imminent lifting of the state of emergency and the opening up of the audiovisual sector to diverse political sensibilities. These measures will, once they have been implemented, obviously represent a step in the right direction in terms of responding to the expectations of the Algerian people.
Do you believe that the announcement on Sunday of the results of the presidential election in the Central African Republic by the Constitutional Court, deemed to be biased by the opponents of President François Bozizé, puts an end to the electoral disputes in this country?
The January 23 elections in the Central African Republic were marked by the mobilization of the population; there were no major incidents.
France takes note of the results announced by the Constitutional Court on February 12. It would like the problems identified during the January 23 ballot, notably by the Constitutional Court, to be the subject of wide-ranging dialogue, and to be taken into account in order to improve the conditions of the upcoming ballots.
France urges the political opposition to continue to contribute to the electoral process, and to promote its message during the second round of the general elections.