Daily Press Briefing
Statements made by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
(excerpts)
(Paris, March 27, 2008)
[Please note that only the original French text issued by the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.
COMOROS
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France welcomes the success of the African military operation which re-established the territorial integrity of the Union of the Comoros without loss of life.
Since the start of the crisis France has given its full support to the legitimate authorities of the Comoros and the African Union. After the failure of the final mediation mission in which we’d participated, we supported the AU operation by providing transport for Tanzanian troops and their equipment.
President Sarkozy received a very warm message from President Sambi the day before yesterday thanking him for France’s action.
In spite of the African intervention, Mr. Bacar was able to leave Anjouan island. He entered Mayotte illegally where he was immediately arrested and disarmed by the French authorities. He is currently in our custody and is to be transferred to Reunion in the next few hours.
Parallel to consideration of his asylum request, given the conditions in which it which it was made, Mr. Bacar will be the object of appropriate judicial procedures.
Q – Can you tell us about the possibility of extraditing Mr. Bacar to the Comoros as Moroni has requested? Are there extradition agreements between the two countries?
There is no extradition agreement between our two countries. For further details I refer you to the Ministry of Justice.
Q – What’s your response to the demonstrations near the French Embassy in Moroni in protest against Mohamed Bacar’s flight? Have French nationals been affected by the demonstrations?
Our embassy has taken the necessary security measures in view of the situation which doesn’t seem to have caused any injuries among our nationals. It issued the usual recommendations to exercise caution in such cases. We are relying on the Comorian authorities to ensure law and order.
(…)
