Word: chadian
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...French aid workers accused in October of trying to smuggle 103 children out of Chad, the question was never whether they'd be found guilty, but when. Now that a Chadian court has handed down their conviction, the transfer of the six back to France to serve their sentences appears to be just a matter of days or weeks. Mending the damaged relations between France and Chad, however, could take far longer...
...criminal court in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena deliberated for only a few hours Monday evening before finding the six employees of Zoé's Ark, a France-based children's aid group, guilty of attempted kidnapping. All six were sentenced to eight years of hard labor. The verdict came two months after Chadian police arrested a total of 17 people working with Zoé's Ark in the eastern town of Abéché as they prepared an unauthorized airlift of 103 children to France, where they were to receive medical care and be placed in foster...
...return of the six to France won't produce general relief, much less joy. Families and supporters of the Zoé's Ark convicts are still railing at what they call a Chadian show-trial, and accuse Paris of failing to provide sufficient assistance and protection to what they say are blameless humanitarian officials. They contend the staffers were trapped in the shifting political sands surrounding the Darfur crisis - particularly the deployment of French-led peacekeeping forces to the Chad-Sudan border region, a move that Chadian authorities resent. Public opinion in Chad, on the other hand, has broadly accused...
...only been doing their jobs without playing an active role in the scheme to hustle the children out of Chad. Their release therefore drew cheers in Europe but a surge of protest in Chad, where some believe the white suspects in the case are being given deferential treatment normal Chadians could never hope for. Press reports from Chadian capital N'Djamena are replete with residents expressing concern that the release of these seven following Sarkozy's intervention may be an initial step to all 17 ultimately being transferred to France - either via extradition accords, or through political deal-making...
...lead a nation acting like Zorro," fumed Socialist parliamentarian Jean-Louis Bianco over Sarkozy's Chadian coup. "This sensationalist diplomacy continues posing problems," agreed fellow Socialist Pierre Moscovici. France's media was torn between approbation and concern. Le Figaro's headline Monday hailed "Nicolas Sarkozy's Humanitarian Coup" and nicknamed him "the Jack Bauer of diplomacy," referring to the secret agent star of 24. Le Parisien, however, claimed "Nicolas Sarkozy can't resist the permanent temptation to stage his action as if he's the only person involved". One way or another, as with the fictional television program, the clock...