|
|
Blog Feeds
Anti-Empire
Human Rights in IrelandPromoting Human Rights in Ireland
Lockdown Skeptics
Voltaire NetworkVoltaire, international edition
|
An opinion poll in Le Monde found that almost a third of French people wanted Saddam to win national |
miscellaneous |
news report
 Sunday April 06, 2003 14:24 by aunty american
 One in three French backs Saddam By Charles Bremner and Alan Hamilton ILL-FEELING between Britain and France over the invasion of Iraq has plumbed new depths with the desecration of that most sacred of memorials, a war cemetery.
Relations will be further rent by a second poll, in Le Monde, showing that only a third of the French felt that they were on the same side as the Americans and British, and that another third desired outright Iraqi victory over “les anglo-saxons”. Eleven thousand Allied soldiers lie buried in well-tended peace at Etaples, on the Channel coast near Le Touquet, victims of the struggle by Anglo-Saxons to liberate the French from the German invaders during the First World War. Last week the obelisk raised in their memory was defiled by red-painted insults such as “Rosbeefs go home”; “May Saddam prevail and spill your blood”; and, in a reference to the long-dead casualties beneath the manicured turf, “They are soiling our land”. Local gendarmerie have launched an inquiry, but have so far found no clues. They say there had been no significant demonstrations against the war in that area of France. The graffiti have been scrubbed off, but the incident has provoked outrage among British politicians, war graves staff and the few remaining relatives of those buried at Etaples. French politicians have joined the condemnation. Bruce George, Labour chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, said: “Remembering what sacrifice these men made for the liberation of France, I cannot believe any mature, sane person would be so stupid as that.” David Uffold, 63, a Shropshire farmer, is the only surviving relative of Rifleman Frederick Uffold of the London Regiment, who is buried at Etaples. “I find it sickening that anyone would vandalise the cemetery,” he said. “It is the last place they should be protesting about Iraq. These fellows were drafted in to fight for France. I can’t see any connection between the men buried at Etaples and the war in Iraq.” Peter Francis, of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said he was disgusted that a place remembering those who died defending freedom in world wars long ago should be dragged into a current political debate. French politicians did their best to portray the desecration as an isolated act, but it nonetheless underlined anti-American and anti-British emotions running through France over what is seen there as a bungled invasion rapidly turning into a humanitarian disaster. |
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
|
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6France's attempt to repair relations with America and Britain over Iraq backfired yesterday when Dominique de Villepin, their foreign minister, refused to say which side he supported.
During a speech in London, M de Villepin said he hoped for "a swift conclusion with the minimum possible number of casualties".
But asked by The Telegraph whether he hoped American and British forces would win the military campaign to remove Saddam Hussein, he replied angrily: "I'm not going to answer. You have not been listening carefully to what I said before. You already have the answer."
M de Villepin had come to London to mend fences after the bitter disputes over the failed attempt to secure a UN resolution authorising war, saying: "We must rebuild the world order shattered by the Iraq crisis."
But his apparent reluctance to choose sides will have done serious damage to his charm offensive. Senior British officials said they were "stunned".
Embarrassed French officials tried to salvage the situation by pointing out that, on French television on Monday, M de Villepin said: "Clearly, we hope the US will win this war quickly."
One diplomat said: "We have no hesitation about where we stand."
But M de Villepin's faux pas is likely to harden suspicion in America and Britain of his demands that the UN take over the administration and rebuilding of Iraq after the downfall of Saddam Hussein.
Michael Ancram, shadow foreign affairs spokesman, said: "It is beyond belief that the French foreign minister was unable to bring himself to look forward to a coalition victory and the liberation of the people of Iraq from the tyranny and oppression.
"France appears to be backing herself into a corner from which she cannot get out." M de Villepin, who speaks fluent English, did not meet any British ministers when he came to London to deliver a lecture to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
However he briefly met Sir Michael Jay, former ambassador to Paris and now head of the Diplomatic Service.
The Foreign Office said no snub was intended as the Foreign Secretary was with the Prime Minister at Camp David. "Jack Straw said he would have been happy to meet M de Villepin had he been in London," said a spokesman.
In his address, M de Villepin said France was ready to re-establish a "close and trusting relationship with the United States".
But his comments made clear that the rift is far from being bridged.
Moreover M de Villepin did himself few favours with Washington when, recalling the "bleakest time in our history" during the Second World War, he extolled Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle but left out Franklin D Roosevelt's role in the liberation of France.
M de Villepin argued that the use of force should be subordinated to "law, justice and legitimacy" if it was not to provoke a "clash of civilisations".
He seemed more concerned with the need to constrain America's doctrine of "pre-emptive" action than removing the danger posed by Saddam.
He spoke more about the "destabilising" effect of America's resort to force than the destabilising impact of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of rogue states.
M de Villepin derided American hawks for believing that "democracy can be imposed from the outside" and that "international legal tools become constraints more than safeguards of international security".
He said: "We do not oppose the use of force. We are only warning against the risk of pre-emptive strikes as a doctrine. In endorsing this doctrine, we risk introducing the principle of constant instability and uncertainty." Despite the disagreements over Iraq, M de Villepin said there were many areas where united international action needed to intensify.
He said there should be greater intelligence sharing in the campaign against terrorism, and co-operation to limit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Highlighting the looming crisis in North Korea, he proposed a permanent group of UN weapons inspectors. Having threatened to veto UN approval for military action, M de Villepin insisted: "The UN must be at the heart of the reconstruction and administration of Iraq. The legitimacy of our action depends on it."
M de Villepin's central message was that a world dominated by a supremely powerful America was dangerously unstable. Instead, there should be "a number of regional poles" that co-operate with each other.
One of those would be the European Union and M de Villepin was keen to draw the British Government into a common foreign and security policy that would be dominated by France and Britain.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31827
Keep up the excellent work!
From a country that couldnt fight off the Germans,then collabarated with them.Then got 30% of their oil from Iraq ,supplied their army airforce,and nuke reactor.
Why does Saddo and the French get on so well?
He has a mistress,wears a beret,hates the US,and his troops surrender at the first sign of trouble.
He is French!!
From the Above link (worldnetdaily)
"Today's anti-war movement, while claiming publicly to advocate for peace, is dominated by organizations promoting Communism, anarchy, large-scale urban rioting, financial disruption, and violent attacks on governmental, corporate, military and media centers in America"
- yeah, and? your problem please? OH, sorrrrrry, you see this as a BAD thing?
tough on war, tough on the causes of war!
death to the imperialists!!! death to the ba'aths!!! victory to the people of Iraq.
show the yankee and british crusaders what you are made of.
In America, we were not surprised to learn that many people in France are supporting the enemy. We expected nothing less.
Incidently, 2 out of 3 Americans are ready to invade France as soon as we finish off Saddam and his fellow despots, so we will see who has the last laugh.
This ward is where we keep the nutters.