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Wednesday, July 25, 2007Their liberation is the result of an intense, three-year diplomatic process that the European Union began, that Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and German officials moved forward and that the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Sarkozy's wife clinched. In the end, the rapport that Cécilia Sarkozy established with Qaddafi and his wife and daughter helped propel the outcome. In Sofia, Ferrero-Waldner described the liberation as "a joyous day for Europe and Bulgaria," adding, "This decision will open the way for a new and enhanced relationship between the EU and Libya and reinforce our ties with the Mediterranean region and the whole of Africa." At a hastily called news conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris, Nicolas Sarkozy said, "I wanted to tell you what our joy was at the end of this long suffering," adding, "It is first and foremost a nightmare that is ending for these women and this man, whose innocence is obvious for everyone in Europe." The exact terms of the deal in the medical workers' release were not clear and were still unfolding. Before Libya's highest judicial court commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment, each of the 460 families of the infected children was to receive $1 million in compensation in exchange for dropping demands for the medical workers to be executed. Moral of the story: Hostage taking works. posted by Sydney on 7/25/2007 08:48:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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