France sees no reason for Niger to bar Areva boss
Source: Reuters
PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - France said on Friday there was no reason for Niger to have barred uranium miner Areva's <CEPFi.PA> country chief over accusations the firm may have helped finance a revolt by nomadic Tuareg rebels. Niger's interior minister declared Dominique Pin persona non grata on Tuesday while Pin was out of the West African country. "We do not see a legitimate reason that they would oppose continuing trusting, constructive and fruitful dialogue between Areva and the Niger authorities," said Denis Simonneau, deputy spokesman at France's foreign ministry. "We are looking forward to the next meeting between the two foreign ministers which will take place on Monday in Paris ... Clearly we are hoping for clarification." France has condemned violence in northern Niger and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will propose visiting the country when he meets his counterpart Aichatou Mindaoudou, Simonneau said. The Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), led by Tuareg nomads, has killed at least 36 soldiers and captured dozens more since it launched a rebellion in February demanding greater autonomy for the Saharan region where most of Niger's uranium is mined. Areva has denied supporting the MNJ and said the accusations were completely unfounded. A security adviser for the company's uranium operations in northern Niger was expelled several weeks ago in a move local media linked to government accusations that the company had links with the rebellion. The French government has a majority stake in Areva, which makes nuclear reactors and mines uranium, among other activities. Tuareg groups fought a rebellion in the area in the early 1990s, which ended with a 1995 peace deal that promised more investment in the sparsely populated north and incorporated former rebel fighters into the ranks of government forces. The MNJ says the peace deal has not been fully respected. The government insists it has met its obligations and refuses to negotiate with the rebels, whom it dismisses as drug traffickers and bandits.
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