Bin Laden Links Fate of French Hostages to Afghan Pullout, Paris Remains Adamant
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden said the release of two French hostages in Afghanistan depends on a pullout of their country's soldiers and warned Paris of a "high price" for its policies, in a tape broadcast on Friday.
"We repeat the same message to you: The release of your prisoners in the hands of our brothers is linked to the withdrawal of your soldiers from our country," said the speaker on the audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera television.
Cameraman Stephane Taponier and reporter Herve Ghesquiere, who work for France 3 public television, were seized along with three Afghan colleagues in December 2009 in the mountainous and unstable Kapisa province, east of Kabul.
The al-Qaida chief, addressing the French people, said: "The refusal of your president to withdraw from Afghanistan is the result of his obedience of America, and this refusal is a green light to kill your prisoners ...
"But we will not do this at a timing that suits him," he said, adding the warning that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's stand would "cost him and you a high price on different fronts, inside and outside France."
Bin Laden, in the tape whose authenticity was not immediately possible, warned in a mocking tone that Paris "with its debt and budget deficit does not need new fronts."
However, the French foreign ministry said Paris is "determined" to keep troops in Afghanistan despite Bin Laden’s threat.
"We are determined to pursue our action in favor of the Afghan people with our allies" in the NATO-led ISAF force that is fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.(AFP-Naharnet)
Source: Agence France Presse
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