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A30 world news
Diasabra 27 November 2021

France, Britain spiral into crisis in wake of migrant deaths

to date in the Channel, Ma- spokesman Jamie Davies said we could perhaps have saved
cron and Johnson appeared the prime minister had no re- them.′ We can’t sleep.”
increasingly to be talking past grets about tweeting the letter
each other — or, in Paris’ “written in the spirit of part- While the sinking has
case, barely willing to talk at nership and cooperation.” brought long-simmering
all. Macron’s government French-British tensions to a
spokesman, Gabriel Attal, He expressed hope for a head, it’s not their only issue
said Johnson’s point-person French U-turn on the de- of discord.
on immigration, Home Sec- cision to un-invite Patel to
retary Priti Patel, was no lon- Sunday’s ministerial meeting Adding to the climate of ten-
ger welcome at a meeting on the migration crisis, say- sion: French fishing crews on
Sunday of European min- ing: “Friends and neighbors Friday briefly blocked French
isters who’ll explore ways need to work together to ad- ports, ferry traffic across the
to crack down on migrant- dress this global challenge English Channel and the
smuggling networks. collectively, and we have freight entrance to the un-
been clear that we need to do dersea Eurotunnel. The aim
Attal described Johnson’s let- more.” of the protest over post-
ter as “fundamentally medio- Brexit fishing licenses was
(AP) — The already frac- dismissed the idea, and the cre and totally uncalled-for A French judicial investiga- to disrupt flows of Britain-
tious relationship be- French president made his in its manner.” Suggesting tion into Wednesday’s sink- bound goods and travelers
tween France and Britain displeasure clear that John- British duplicity, Attal also ing has been turned over to and signal that greater distur-
spiralled further down- son posted the letter — ad- said it “doesn’t correspond Paris-based prosecutors who bance could follow amid the
ward into anger and in- dressed “Dear Emmanuel” at all” with discussions that specialize in complex cases of Christmas shopping rush.
comprehension Friday, — on Twitter. Johnson and Macron had organized crime. The prose-
with the two erstwhile Eu- Wednesday after the sinking cutors’ office said it wouldn’t “The British have access to
ropean partners at logger- “I am surprised by methods of an inflatable craft laden comment on whether inves- the European market, while
heads about how to stop when they are not serious,” with migrants off the north- tigators are making progress we do not have access to Brit-
migrants from embarking Macron said on a visit to It- ern French coast. on identifying victims’ na- ish waters. This is not nor-
on dangerous crossings of aly. “You don’t communicate tionalities or causes of the mal, the British government
the English Channel that from a leader to another on “We are sick of double- tragedy. must respect the agreement,”
killed at least 27 people in these matters via tweets and speak,” Attal said. Olivier Lepretre, president of
a sinking this week. letters that are made public. A French fisherman who said the regional fishing commit-
We are not whistleblowers.” And he dismissed Johnson’s he was first to spot and raise tee, said in the port of Calais.
Even as the British govern- proposal that France take the alarm about bodies in the
ment insisted that the two “Come on, come on,” Ma- back migrants who cross il- water on Friday described the He described the blockades
countries “remain close cron added. legally to British shores as scene as “a horror movie.” as “a warning shot.”
friends and partners,” their “clearly not what we need to Karl Maquinghen said he is
words, acts and disputes over The letter and France’s re- solve this problem.” haunted by the thought that Calais — a major jump-off
migration, fishing and how sponse were the latest cross- people might still be alive had point for migrants aiming to
to rebuild a working relation- ing of swords between two Ever-increasing numbers of he and his shipmates reached reach Britain — is also where
ship in the wake of Britain’s nations with a storied his- people fleeing conflict or pov- them sooner. ministers from France, Ger-
exit from the EU increasingly tory of break-ups, make-ups erty in Afghanistan, Sudan, many, the Netherlands, Bel-
suggested otherwise. and, not infrequently, of Iraq, Eritrea or elsewhere are “To see so many bodies like gium and EU officials will
revelling in rubbing each up risking the perilous journey that, next to us. Children. I meet on Sunday.
President Emmanuel Ma- in the wrong way. The eco- from France, hoping to win don’t know how to explain it.
cron scolded Prime Minister nomic, political, social and asylum or find better oppor- Horrific,” Maquinghen said, Without the British minister.
Boris Johnson for making psychological earthquake of tunities in Britain. More than voice cracking with emo-
public a letter that the Brit- Britain’s divorce from the 23,000 people have already tion, in comments broadcast “The ministers will work se-
ish leader sent to the French EU has made cross-Channel entered the U.K. on largely by French coastal radio Delta riously to resolve a serious
leader on Thursday. Most no- cooperation harder still, and unseaworthy small boats this FM. matter with people who are
tably, Johnson proposed that further complicated the long year, up from 8,500 in 2020 serious,” Macron said. “Af-
France take back migrants love-hate relationship be- and just 300 in 2018, accord- “The sight of them like that, terwards, we will see with the
who illegally cross the Chan- tween Paris and London. ing to data compiled by the heads in the water, will stick British how to act effectively,
nel from French to British British Parliament. with us,” he said. “We tell if they decide to be serious.”
shores. Macron’s spokes- Even in the wake of the ourselves: ’Had we got there
man quickly and summarily deadliest migration accident In London, Johnson’s five or ten minutes earlier,

Solomon Islands violence recedes but not underlying tension

(AP) — Violence receded Fri- names. We’ll leave it there,” Sogavare out of a peaceful protest in Honiara,
day in the capital of the Solo- said. Those issues are just the latest in de- primarily of people from Malaita
mon Islands, but the government cades of rivalry between Malaita and demonstrating over a number of
showed no signs of addressing Honiara’s Chinatown and its down- Guadalcanal, where the capital, Ho- grievances. Police fired tear gas and
the underlying grievances that town precinct were focuses of rioters, niara, is located, said Jonathan Pryke, rubber bullets at the demonstrators,
sparked two days of riots, includ- looters and protesters who demanded director of the Sydney-based Lowy who set fire to the National Parlia-
ing concerns about the country’s the resignation of Sogavare, who has Institute think tank’s Pacific Islands ment, a police station and many other
increasing links with China. been prime minister intermittently program. buildings.
since 2000.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister The Solomon Islands, with a popu-
Manasseh Sogavare sought to deflect Sogavare has been widely criticized lation of about 700,000, are located
attention from domestic issues by by leaders of the country’s most about 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles)
blaming outside interference for stir- populous island of Malaita for a 2019 northeast of Australia. Internationally
ring up the protesters, with a thinly decision to drop diplomatic ties with they are probably still best known for
veiled reference to Taiwan and the Taiwan in favor of mainland China. the bloody fighting that took place
United States. His government, meanwhile, has there during World War II between
been upset over millions in U.S. aid the United States and Japan.
External pressures were a “very big promised directly to Malaita, rather
... influence. I don’t want to name than through the central government. Riots and looting erupted Wednesday