International

France moots international peace force

By Vaiju Naravane

Paris April 4. France has proposed the deployment of an international interposition force in West Asia. Calls for such a force were made by the French President, Jacques Chirac, and the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, during electoral campaign speeches and interviews.

``We shall be consulting the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. In my opinion, an international interposition force should be put into place as soon as possible under the authority of the United Nations,'' Mr. Chirac said.

Mr. Jospin said France had been urging the formation of such a force for over a year. The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has repeatedly called for the deployment of international peace-keepers, a demand consistently rejected by the Israeli Government.

However, other E.U. members rejected the French proposal also made at the European Foreign Ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Wednesday night. The French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, was the first to leave the E.U. Foreign Ministers meeting a disappointed man. The French proposal to the E.U. was made shortly after Israel flatly refused any suggestions of an international peace conference.

Mr Vedrine has long held the view that Europe's response to the escalating violence in West Asia has been vacillating and weak. He once again called for a "more decisive E.U. stand'' saying, "we must speak with a firmer voice.''

Around 3,000 persons marched in Paris and other French cities in support of the Palestinians and against Israeli re-occupation of Palestinian towns. Mr. Jospin said Israel would not be able to achieve peace through a "disproportionate response'' to Palestinian suicide attacks.

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