Fallout in France following Taliban interview

There has been outrage from many quarters here in France following the publication on Thursday of an interview with the leader of a faction of the Taliban, who launched an ambush on French soldiers in Afghanistan in August, killing 10 and injuring 21.

But the outcry has not been so much at the content of the piece that appeared in the weekly magazine, Paris Match, as much as over the photographs published alongside it.

And it has left many with more than a bad taste in their mouths questioning how and where journalists draw the line in offending the sensibilities of others over a subject that is bound to stir controversy - and increase circulation figures.

The photographs in question accompany an exclusive interview conducted by the two journalists for the magazine, and they show some of the Taliban, their faces covered by scarves, dressed in the military uniform of the dead soldiers, as well as some personal effects taken from the victims.

"It's objectionable and hurts to see these killers parading around in the clothes of French troops," Joël Le Pahun, the father of one of those who was killed told Agence France Presse.

And he wasn't alone in his views. Similar sentiments were echoed by many, including Michel Stollsteiner, the French general who commands the region of Kabul.

Interviewed on a national radio station here on Thursday morning, Stollsteiner said that he had been "revolted" by the publication of the photographs and that in his view they had added nothing but pain to families back in France already trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

Speaking on another national radio station, the French defence minister, Hervé Morin, commented that the Taliban had clearly grasped how to do battle in the "communications war".

"They have understood that public opinion in the West is probably the Achille's heel of the international community present in Afghanistan," he said.

"Should we be actively helping promote the views of those who have completely understood the power of communication?"

Hervé Morin, French minister of defence

(from Wikipedia, credit US Department of Defense)

For an answer to that question of course, it's important to understand why Paris Match decided to publish the photographs.

And the magazine's management has defended its decision by saying it "understands" how upsetting the photographs might be to many in France, but insisting that it "has a duty to cover both sides of the war."

It also denied charges that the Taliban had been able to manipulate the circumstances and way in which the interview was conducted, maintaining that it was the responsibility of journalists to "show life as it is."

One of the journalists who made the report, Véronique de Viguerie, was also interviewed on French national radio on Thursday and tried to shed some light on her motivations.

"I absolutely do not want to appear as though I am without heart, or without feelings," she said.

"I thought I was just doing my job and I hope that wouldn't bring hurt to anyone."

De Viguerie also said that she knew of the existence of a video that had been taken during the ambush on the French soldiers, but Paris Match, has insisted that there was no way footage from that video would be shown in the magazine.

Taliban issues fresh threat against French in Afghanistan

This week's edition of the French news magazine, Paris Match, which hit the stands on Thursday carries a story that has not surprisingly been making the headlines throughout this country's media.

In an interview with two journalists from the magazine, a commander of a faction of the Taliban forces in Afghanistan issues a warning not only to French troops serving there, but also this country's interests throughout the world.

The commander in question, referred to as "Farouki", is the one who reportedly led an ambush against French soldiers last month, killing 10 and injuring 21.

It was the biggest loss French troops have sustained since a bombing in Lebanon in 1983.

The two journalists from the magazine, Eric de Lavarène. and Véronique de Viguerie were given exclusive access to the leader, who revealed the events leading up to the attack and threatened similar strikes unless French troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.

He said the soldiers had been warned by villagers several days before not to enter the area as it was known to be dangerous and one controlled by the Taliban.

"They didn't listen," he said. "So we attacked. That's legitimate defence."

Since the attack there have been suggestions in the media here in France that an interpreter working with the soldiers had somehow set a trap for them. But in the interview, Farouki rejects such claims and says that the ambush wasn't prepared a long time in advance.

"We were informed of the presence of foreign soldiers just before the ambush and we reacted immediately," he told Paris Match.

"We know the lie of the land very well. We have arms everywhere. And we were in position just before they arrived. 140 well trained fighters.

"If night hadn't fallen we would have killed them all."

He also denied rumours that have been circulating in the French press that some of the soldiers had been tortured before they were killed.

And he lay the blame for the attack fair and square on the shoulders of the US president George W. Bush and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, saying foreign troops were not wanted on Afghan soil - "their territory" - and unless they left, the killing would continue.

There would also be no negotiations with the authorities in Kabul until there was complete withdrawal.

"With this attack we wanted to show the French troops that they should stop helping the Americans," he said.

"The next time they enter territory we control we'll attack again."

He also issued that warning about the continued presence of French soliders in particular in Afghanistan that could well have much of the French media once again questioning Sarkozy's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

"We'll attack French interests throughout the world. We have the means. We're not just alone here isolated in the mountains.

"We'll continue to defend our country to the end. To destroy our movement it'll be necessary to kill us all. And believe me there are a lot of us."

There are around 2,600 French troops stationed in Afghanistan and plans to send another 700.

On a visit to Kabul shortly after the attack, Sarkozy confirmed his commitment to the 40-nation "mission" in Afghanistan.



How the interview took place
Véronique de Viguerie (in French)