Spain: Europeans Held In Chad Must Be Presumed Innocent

[Aptrgangr]

Spain: Europeans Held In Chad Must Be Presumed Innocent

MADRID, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) - Spain insisted Monday that 17 Europeans detained in Chad over a charity's bid to fly more than 100 children out of the country must be presumed innocent.
Nine French nationals -- six members of the French charity Zoe's Ark and three journalists -- a Belgian pilot and seven Spanish crew of the chartered aircraft were arrested in eastern Chad on Thursday and are suspected of child trafficking.
"The steps that Spanish authorities are taking are aimed at guaranteeing the right to the presumption of innocence," a foreign ministry source said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday condemned as "illegal and unacceptable" the charity's bid to fly the 103 children to France from the Chad-Darfur border.
But Zoe's Ark representatives in Paris insist they mounted the "Children Rescue" operation in good faith, hoping to evacuate a group of orphans whose lives were at risk in Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur, over the Chadian border.
"We don't have enough information to make a declaration on the facts," the Spanish foreign ministry source said. But "we believe that it could be an illegal and unacceptable act."

The source also noted that, although it is an issue for the Chadian judicial authorities, the "airline's responsibility is different from that of the NGO."
The Spanish airline involved, Girjet, said it was confident the Chadian government and judicial authorities would resolve the crisis.
The crew members are "calm and waiting for the diplomatic authorities to resolve" the situation, the head of security for the company, Carlos de Una, told AFP.
Company's chief Toni Cajal said the conditions for the crew were improving. "They are eating more, drinking more and are in good health."
Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon have also raised the issue with the Chadian and French authorities.
Moratinos confirmed that the seven Spaniards were in good health and were being well-treated.

Spain: Europeans held in Chad must be presumed innocent

I hope some years in African prisons will teach them human trafficking is something bad. But I fear EU leaders will give some cheques to free them - like always....

[Menydh]

No matter what they portray it as charity, they had planned to ilegally smuggle the children out of their country. This is kidnapping and traffic of children and they must stand to trial by the Chad authorities.

I watched the images of the President of Chad on TV, in anger and accusing them face to face of attempt to kidnap.

There is a lot of westernist hipocrisy in these NGOs. It is people who play to being humanitarian organising an expensive and up-to-comfortable standards air expedition, to then pluck African (or Asian) children out of their roots and giving them to people in Europe who have a desire to add a trophy to their multiculturalist political views. It is a perversion of true charity.

Nothing to do with true charities and humanitarian workers, who spend years of their lifes in those places, helping them in-site instead of helping multiculturalists in Europe to fulfill their egocentristic desires.

Charity... or Trade?

More than 100 would-be foster families in France paid the group between £1,400 and £4,200 as an initial "goodwill" fee to look after the children.

Nine people charged over Chad \'abduction\' - Telegraph

For the record, that's between 2,020.86 EUR and 6,062.58 EUR at current exchange conversion rates.

The life of European children these days is not worth anything near that in these times, for it doesn't have a value with which to make a political stand of multiculturalism.

The life of European children ends in the rubbish bins at the backdoors of the abortion factories.

[Marcus Marulus]

This, along with importing foreign workers, is new form of slave trade.

I think Gladstone wrote about that quite a lot in the past.

They are despicable criminals.

[Menydh]

It is indeed a new form of slave trade.