France's embassy in Syria avoided ransack
Syria-France, Politics, 2/8/2006

A spokesman for France's ministry of foreign affairs was asked "People were asked to demonstrate in front of the French Embassy in Damascus. Were you assured by the Syrian authorities that the building would be protected? Are incidents such as when individuals force their way into European buildings possible without the passive or active complicity of the local authorities?"

The spokesman said according to the ministry yesterday "With regard to your first point, we did have confirmation about a call to demonstrate today in front of our embassy in Damascus, in Syria. As I told you, in the context of our relations with the Syrian authorities, we said that it was up to them to protect our building and diplomatic and consular personnel.

"With regard to your second point, we reminded the local authorities of their responsibilities and we are confident as to the capacity of these authorities to provide the necessary protection. As we've seen, in certain cases, especially in Syria and Lebanon, diplomatic and consular premises were ransacked. We obviously condemn these attacks which occurred during the weekend."

Asked "If the demonstrations in Damascus today get out of hand, are you going to refer the matter to international bodies as Lebanon would like?"

The spokesman said ""As to your first point, we hope we won't see that situation. We hope the demonstrations will take place calmly, and will not lead to damage. As regards referral to international bodies, there was a debate yesterday in the European Union about this. There are discussions at the United Nations. We're taking part in these debates and we're advocating calm and encouraging a peaceful solution to this crisis through dialogue and mutual comprehension."

Previous Stories:
  Saad al-Hariri meets Chirac; urges Syria to cooperate   (1/13/2006)
  French pressure on Syria regarding Lebanon   (1/11/2006)
  Lucien Bitterlin lashes out at western pressures against Syria   (1/7/2006)

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