Statement by the Ministre d’Etat, Mr. Alain Juppé – Release of Mr. Salah Hamouri
Syrian incursions into Lebanon
Egypt – Sentencing of the blogger Maikel Nabil to two years in prison
Japan – Whaling
Democratic Republic of Congo
Libya
Statement by the Ministre d’Etat, Mr. Alain Juppé – Release of Mr. Salah Hamouri
On behalf of France, I would like to thank the Israeli Prime Minister and government for their decision to include Mr. Salah Hamouri in the list of prisoners eligible for release by Sunday within the framework of the second wave of releases under the “Shalit agreement.”
Since 2009, President Sarkozy has been expressing the hope that Mr. Salah Hamouri would be granted early release. I had met his parents in Jerusalem during my last visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories in June. Our ambassador in Tel-Aviv appealed tirelessly to the competent Israeli authorities to that effect, with the full agreement of the individual involved.
France appreciates this gesture by the Israeli Prime Minister and government and welcomes the gracious attitude of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. It welcomes the fact that this decision will allow Mr. Salah Hamouri to return to his family in Jerusalem very soon.
Mr. Salah Hamouri, who, throughout his detention, benefited from consular protection and regular visits by representatives from the Embassy of France in Tel-Aviv and the French Consulate in Haifa, has been kept informed of how things are progressing.
Syrian incursions into Lebanon
France is extremely concerned by reports of a new incursion by Syrian forces into Lebanon, which has reportedly resulted in two Lebanese casualties. This incident, if confirmed, again demonstrates the threat posed by the Syrian regime’s repressive policy to regional stability. The Syrian authorities must respect the integrity and sovereignty of the Lebanese territory.
While the Syrian authorities continue to impose a bloody crackdown against the Syrian people who are courageously demonstrating for the right to freedom and dignity, we are grateful to the Lebanese authorities for ensuring that every effort is made to facilitate the reception and treatment of injured Syrian nationals and for respecting the rights of refugees wishing to enter its territory.
Egypt – Sentencing of the blogger Maikel Nabil to two years in prison
France expresses its concern regarding the use of Egyptian military courts to try cases that only involve civilians.
It deplores the fact that this interferes with the freedom of expression and opinion which form the basis of any democracy.
With this in mind, we are concerned by the latest ruling handed down by a Court of Appeal sentencing the blogger Maikel Nabil to two years in prison for having criticized the armed forces.
Reaffirming its attachment to the respect for fundamental freedoms, it calls for the establishment of the rule of law, respectful of the democratic aspirations of the Egyptian people.
France deplores the resumption of whaling operations in the Southern Ocean by Japan’s JARPA II fleet, in spite of the moratorium adopted by the International Whaling Commission in 1982 that has applied to Japan since 1986. France reaffirms that this practice of scientific whaling takes place outside the control of the International Whaling Commission and that most modern research can be conducted without killing whales.
In keeping with its position in support of the strict protection of whales, France would like Japan to put an end to these large-scale whaling operations, within the general framework defined by the IWC, a multilateral body that has played a role in managing and protecting cetaceans since the entry into force of the moratorium on commercial whaling and the establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary (1994). We urge Japan to change its position within this organization.
What’s your opinion about resolving the post-election crisis in the DRC?
Reports by several observation missions, in particular that of the EU, have highlighted serious failures and numerous irregularities in the voting and vote tabulation processes. France has, from the outset, noted and condemned these serious irregularities.
The published results are provisional. One of the opposition parties has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice. It must be examined in an atmosphere of calm and impartiality.
France calls, at the national level as well as at the UN, for the resumption of political dialogue in anticipation of the final results of the parliamentary elections. It renews its appeal to all political forces and to the Congolese people to ensure that civilian peace is preserved at the same time as the legitimate right of expression. The Congolese people themselves must play a key role in finding a solution.
France, in close collaboration with the African organizations, supports all initiatives likely to contribute to this dialogue, at the national level as well as within the UN and the EU. It again calls for the electoral process to be completed in the most transparent way possible.
Yesterday in Tripoli, Alain Juppé announced the release of €230 million in frozen Libyan assets in France. Are these €230 million part of the €1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets, the release of which France announced at the beginning of September? If yes, why weren’t they released sooner? In general, can you tell us how many Libyan assets have been released in France since the start of the crisis? I’m thinking for example of the Quai d’Orsay’s announcement at the beginning of August regarding the release of €259 million, notably for the purchase of French wheat.
The Libyan assets were frozen by UNSCR 1973 in order to deprive Qaddafi’s regime of the financial resources to impose the crackdown against his people.
These assets belong to the Libyan people. Since the fall of Qaddafi’s regime, France has been committed to releasing Libyan assets in order to allow the Libyan government to have the resources necessary for the reconstruction of Libya.
Pending the unfreezing of all assets, France had secured the authorization of the Security Council’s Sanctions Committee to unfreeze €1.5 billion on August 31. This exemption made it possible to fund the delivery of humanitarian supplies for Libya. On this basis, we will also transfer 230 million to the Central Bank of Libya (CBL).
At the Sanctions Committee in New York, we also support the unfreezing in full of the assets of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and the Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) at the Security Council.
The process to unfreeze the assets has begun and should be completed on Friday, December 16. All of these assets will then be under the full control of the Libyan authorities.
We are working very closely with the Libyan authorities to implement the vigilance procedures to ensure that this process of unfreezing the assets takes place under the best possible conditions from a technical point of view.