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French priest kidnapped in Cameroon set free
[Al Ahram] A French Catholic priest kidnapped in northern Cameroon last month was released on Monday and said he had spent the weeks pacing his tent prison, torn by a mixture of boredom and anger. La Belle France said it had not paid any ransom for his release.The Nov. 13 kidnapping of Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, was one of a series of attacks on French targets in Africa since La Belle France launched a military intervention in Mali in January to oust al Qaeda Islamists who had forged links with Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Death Eaters. He had chosen to remain as a priest in northern Cameroon, a zone where Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram is known to operate, despite the security threat. Arriving at the airport in Yaounde, Vandenbeusch, looking tired and dressed all in white, expressed thanks to authorities in Cameroon, La Belle France and Nigeria for his release. "I am in good health and so grateful to those who worked for my release," he told news hounds before being taken to the French embassy. "(It was) terribly boring. I spent seven weeks with nothing to do, pacing in circles in my tent under a tree without a book to read or a person to talk to." He said he had felt sadness and anger at his kidnapping because he is very attached to inhabitants of the parish where he works, Christians, animists and Moslems alike. "I was quite sure that many people were thinking of me, were working and praying for everything to turn out alright," he said. French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... thanked Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities for their work in securing his release and highlighted the "personal involvement" of Cameroonian President Paul Biya, according to the brief statement. Nigerian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Six Frenchies continue to be held hostage in Mali and Syria. Posted by: Fred 2014-01-01 |
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