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A Liberation Hailed, but Questioned    [

    Happy Ending in Libya
    Le Monde | Editorial

    Tuesday 24 July 2007

    One can only rejoice at the Tuesday July 24 liberation of the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian-Bulgarian doctor who had been detained over eight years in Libya in a matter concerning the spread of AIDS in Benghazi hospital. Whatever role each party in this happy ending (to which the emirate of Qatar also contributed) played, they must be congratulated for the successful outcome of this complex mission undertaken by Elysée General Secretary Claude Guéant and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner - a mission in which a starring role was played by the president of the Republic's spouse, Cécilia Sarkozy, with a view to obtaining the six prisoners' "immediate repatriation."

    On the very evening of his election, May 6, Nicolas Sarkozy had emphasized the importance he attached to this matter, even though France is not directly involved, and the solidity of his commitment. Since then - just as any failure would have been held against him - this happy ending must be credited to him. Nonetheless, that does not mean we shouldn't wonder about the role the president of the Republic assigned to his wife. Unlike her first trip to Libya July 12, which aroused a certain amount of irritation in Brussels, Mrs. Sarkozy left for Tripoli this time on July 22 with the European commissioner whom the head of state has received at the Elysée beforehand.

    Cases abound of these "sensitive" negotiations, where, to achieve its desired end, the state calls on less-official channels than those of diplomacy and chooses personalities who have formed useful relationships in the past with the foreign interlocutor. In this context, we remember the missions François Mitterrand confided to Roland Dumas, when he was not yet a minister. Or the "embassies" of Jean-François Deniau, former minister and writer, now deceased.

    In that category, the comparison does not hold. The ground had been amply prepared by Mme. Sarkozy's first trip. And the head of state's wife cannot claim any specific connection with the Libyan head of state anterior to her role as France's First Lady. The French authorities' semantic uncertainties in describing Mrs. Sarkozy's intervention give an idea of the problem posed by this initiative: as "a wife and a mother" and as the president's "emissary," they indicated at first; as "a symbol of European humanitarianism," according to the prime minister; as an "intermediary," according to the secretary of state for parliamentary relations.

    Mr. Sarkozy encourages his wife to invent a role for herself. It will be useful to clarify what that is.

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    A Liberation Hailed, but Questioned
    Libération

    Tuesday 24 July 2007

Although the European Commission for External Relations and the UMP congratulate themselves on the liberation of the Bulgarian nurses, the Socialist Party and the network "Sortir du nucléaire" [Get Out of Nuclear] also expect some clarifications concerning the discussions with Libya.

    Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European commissioner for external relations: "A strong new relationship between the EU and Libya" "This decision [the liberation] will open the way to a strong new relationship between the EU and Libya and will strengthen our ties with the Mediterranean region and with all of Africa. I warmly welcome the Libyan government's decision to transfer the Bulgarian medical personnel to Bulgaria and I share the joy of their families and friends as well as that of the people and government of Bulgaria."

    Patrick Devedjian, UMP secretary general: "This liberation could never have been achieved without the involvement of the head of state's spouse." "In conformity with his campaign promises, Nicolas Sarkozy began a diplomatic action with Libya for this liberation. This French success also involves the whole ensemble of European diplomacy of which France has been the representative. This liberation could never have been achieved without the involvement of the head of state's spouse and the connection she was able to establish with the Libyan authorities."

    The Socialist Party: "Let there be light, notably on the quid pro quos demanded by Kaddafi." In a communiqué, "The Socialist Party demands that light be shed on the conditions of these discussions and notably on the quid pro quos demanded and obtained by Colonel Kaddafi. Parliament will have to be informed at some point: the Socialist Party will make sure that happens."

    The network Sortir du nucléaire [Get Out of Nuclear] accuses Nicolas Sarkozy of indulging in a "nuclear barter" by proposing "an exchange of nuclear technology for the Bulgarian nurses" to Libyan President Moammar Kaddafi. "To promote nuclear power and to attempt to spread the use of this technology over the planet is, in general, a very bad thing for the environment. Furnishing nuclear technology to a dictator is even more irresponsible. Messrs. Sarkozy and Kaddafi talk about 'civilian nuclear use,' but experience and today's news (for example in Korea or in Iran) show that civilian and military nuclear power are intimately connected."