Another 24 hours for French hostages

Allawi says neutrals not safe from terrorists.

Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Arabic language satellite-television channel al-Jazeera reported that Islamic Army in Iraq terrorists claiming to hold French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot extended the deadline on their execution for another 24 hours. The terrorists threaten to kill the journalists if the French government did not revoke the ban on headscarves in schools. The two men were captured last Saturday and it is at their request that their execution was postponed till 9 p.m. today.

Al-Jazeera broadcast a video on Saturday showing the hostages calling on the French people to demonstrate in favour of repealing the veil ban. The ban itself was adopted in December 2003 and forbids public school students from wearing conspicuous religious attire like the Islamic headscarf. The law comes into effect with the new school year in two days time.

"I appeal to the French people and each French citizen [. . .] to hold protests for this law on the veil ban to be cancelled, because our life is in danger," said Mr Chesnot, correspondent for Radio France Internationale. "I call on President Chirac and the French government to immediately retract the veil ban to show good will towards the Arab and Muslim world," he added.

In their initial press release on August 28 the terrorists had called for "the retraction of the ban within 48 hours, otherwise they would kill the hostages". President Chirac responded immediately by defending the controversial law and "solemnly" asking the captors to release the hostages. Muslim leaders also spoke out against the kidnapping calling it "the wrong way to deal with the law".

Sheikh Abdessatar Abdeliawad, a member of Iraq's Sunni Committee of Ulemas, said that "if the hostages are killed it will create a chasm between Iraq and France and only the [US] occupier will benefit. Executing the two journalists will turn France from a friend into foe thus making us lose an ally and adding a new enemy on the list of our adversaries."

French diplomacy is working overtime trying to save the two reporters. Foreign Minister Barnier is in Egypt meeting Muslim leaders. His secretary-general is in Baghdad trying to negotiate an end to the crisis. According to France's ambassador in the Iraqi capital, "we are in contact with people who can help us find a solution".

Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said that "[n]eutrality doesn't exist, as the kidnapping of the French journalists has shown. Anyone fighting on the side of the Iraqi government should know they cannot escape from the terrorists. The French are deluding themselves if they think they can remain outside of this. Today, the extremists are targeting them too."

France opposed the intervention by the United States and the United Kingdom in Iraq. (LF)

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• france
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• hostages
• islam
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