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February 4, 2003
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Tuesday
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Zul Hijjah 2,1423
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France to restrict mercenary activities
By Our Correspondent
PARIS, Feb 3: France, the country that gave to the world the modern-day mercenary, long associated with its colonization of Africa, looks to be one of the first to give itself a law that would attempt to put an end to the phenomenon that is now considered as belonging to another age.
Long under discussion, a law that would severely limit the activities of mercenaries, and forbid their recruitment and training on French soil is being considered by the foreign defence and interior ministries.
Such a law, say its advocates, will allow France to speak with greater moral weight when attempting to control the activities of mercenaries in such countries as Ivory Coast, where their presence has been largely held responsible for the continued political and military might being wielded by President Laurent Gbagbo. It is also blamed indirectly for the anti-French atmosphere that has reigned there in recent days, notably in the capital city of Abidjan.
France was considerably embarrassed by a news report on French TV channel TF1 a week ago in which it was revealed
that France was authorizing young French Jewish men between the ages of 18 and 21 to take part in a special brigade in Israel that was fighting against Palestinian in the occupied territories.
When queried at a news briefing as to the legality of such a special French brigade, and how the status of the young French nationals fighting for Israel differed from that of mercenaries, foreign ministry spokesman said simply: “I understand their activities are legal because they hold dual nationality.”
Asked about the French reaction to the role being played by mercenaries, mostly South African, in recent victories by loyalist Ivoirian forces, the spokesman noted “we condemn, as we always have, the need of a country to have recourse to mercenaries.”
Last June, the French government intervened to nip in the bud a mercenary operation organized in France, which had intended overthrowing Madagascar’s new head of state Marc Ravalomanana.
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