Free French and Moland!

On December 28 we read in VG that “the Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed that they even in the holiday are working on a transfer for the two doomed Norwegians…. to Norway”.

 

Quote from VG: “We work through our channels and there is constant communication between the Foreign Service and the Congolese authorities, says advisor of communications Marie Lerberg Kopstad in the Foreign Ministry.”

I didn’t put much trust in this information, but several people contacted me regarding this. After countless phone calls to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry I finally reached Lerberg Kopstad who was travelling abroad. She told me that she had been misquoted by VG, and what she referred to was the meetings ambassador Jon Vea had with the Congolese authorities in the beginning of December. The Foreign Ministry has apparently contacted VG after the misquote was printed. I haven’t seen any correction in VG, but of course, I could have overlooked it.

The secretary contact told me that the embassy in Angola was working. But from what I’ve found out the Foreign Service haven’t worked on this case at all over the holidays. The guy’s local lawyer in Kisangani sent me an e-mail on December 31th and he said that he hadn’t heard from the Foreign Ministry since he recieved an e-mail two weeks earlier from the Embassy in Angola.

The Foreign Ministry has not had any representative in Kisangani since December 9th. The last one went back to Norway then.

Kari Hilde French, January 4th 2010