Jordan Times
Sunday, October 14, 2001

King to resume European tour Monday

By Francesca Sawalha

King Abdullah was scheduled to have a working lunch with President Jacques Chirac and afternoon talks with Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, French Ambassador to Jordan Bernard Emie announced on Saturday.

In tandem with the King's trip, Finance Minister Michel Marto was to start an Oct. 15-18 visit to Paris for meetings with French counterparts on ways to boost economic cooperation and devise possible mechanisms for debt relief.

On Tuesday, the King was expected in London for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Agence France-Presse said, quoting a Jordanian official. The Royal Court on Saturday did not confirm the London trip.

The King's European tour has already taken him to Germany and Italy last week. He was in Turkey yesterday, for talks with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

According to Ambassador Emie, the main objective of the King's one-day visit to France was to discuss the anti-terror campaign following the atrocious Sept. 11 attacks, as well as the situation after last week's launch of US-British strikes in Afghanistan and its repercussions on the Near and Middle East.

Chirac and Jospin were expected to reiterate French and European commitment to finding a just solution to the bloody Palestinian-Israeli conflict, after a shaky truce deal was concluded three weeks ago, and bringing the parties back to the negotiating table.

“We know and appreciate Jordan's influence and moderating role in the region,” Emie told a news conference.

Praising “significant security moves” taken by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat after a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres last month, the ambassador urged Israel “to implement its part of the commitments, especially the withdrawal of troops from Palestinian-ruled areas.”

“There is no solution other than implementation of the recommendations contained in the Mitchell Report,” Emie stated.

He hailed recent declarations by US President George W. Bush on Palestinian statehood as “an evolution” in Washington's Middle East policies, and a “change in language.”

Europe has long been advocating Palestinian statehood, issuing in 1999 its boldest yet declaration on the “unqualified” right of the Palestinians to establish an independent state.

Moving on to the military strikes in Afghanistan, Emie said France has made two ships — an oil tanker and a frigate — available for the “Enduring Freedom” operation against the network of suspect terrorist Osama Ben Laden and its hosts, the Taleban regime.

It also granted over-fly permission in its airspace, and provided intelligence, including agents on the ground.

But, Emie stressed, France has also been firm in stating that the current efforts are part of a war against terrorism, and not against Afghanistan or Muslims, and that in no way should terror be linked to any religious belief.

“I remind you that there are five million Muslims in France, more than in Jordan itself,” Emie told journalists, adding that no incidents, abuses or violence were reported against Muslim communities in France.

“The military operations are in Afghanistan because that is where [Ben Laden's] terrorist network is, not because Afghanistan is a Muslim country.”

Addressing widespread concerns that the current military campaign could expand to hit Arab countries, the ambassador declared that his country had no information of any such specific plans.

“At this stage, France has no knowledge of plans of such a nature,” Emie said.

The US informed the UN last week that it was not ruling out having to strike other terrorist networks and infrastructure linked to Ben Laden's “Al Qaeda” network outside Afghanistan.

“The possibility of strikes in other countries has been suggested. We will reserve our right and freedom to examine the situation when it will arise, and we will make our judgement then, and in complete independence,” Emie said.

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