Spain, France, Germany give Venezuela's Maduro ultimatum

Yahoo – AFP, 26 January 2019

International pressure is growing on Maduro, right, after National Assembly head
Juan Guaido declared himself acting president

Spain, France and Germany on Saturday gave embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum, saying they would recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as president unless he calls elections within eight days.

The ultimatum comes as international pressure mounts on the Maduro regime to agree a new vote, with the United States, Canada and major South American players already recognising Guaido, who proclaimed himself acting president of Venezuela during massive street rallies this week.

After four years of economic pain that has left Venezuelans short of food and medicine and driven more than two million to flee, Guaido is trying to oust Maduro following controversial elections that saw the socialist leader sworn in for a second term.

"If within eight days there are no fair, free and transparent elections called in Venezuela, Spain will recognise Juan Guaido as Venezuelan president" so that he himself can call such polls, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised announcement.

French President Emmanuel Macron followed suit in a tweet, saying "the Venezuelan people must be able to freely decide on their future," as did German government spokeswoman Martina Fietz.

The coordinated announcements are the most explicit yet from EU countries as the 28-member bloc struggles to draft a joint statement with regards to its position on the crisis in Venezuela.

'Not looking to impose'

Spain had wanted the EU to take a tough line on Maduro by calling for immediate elections, failing which the bloc as a whole would recognise Guaido, the 35-year-old head of Venezuela's National Assembly.

But countries like Austria, Greece and Portugal are much more reluctant.

In fact Greece's ruling party Syriza has publicly backed Maduro, with party secretary Panos Skourletis voicing "full support and solidarity" to what to he called "the legal president."

President Donald Trump's administration has spearheaded the international pressure on Maduro, who accuses Washington of being behind an attempted "coup," by declaring his regime "illegitimate."

On Saturday at a UN Security Council meeting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will urge members to recognise Guaido as interim president, the State Department said.

Washington's support for Guaido led Maduro to close the US embassy and consulates and break diplomatic ties.

US diplomats in Venezuela have until Saturday to leave the country, but Washington has refused to fully comply fully with the exit order.

Guaido is instead urging the US diplomats to stay and keep the embassy's doors open.

Maduro's reelection last year was contested by the opposition and criticised internationally -- but he has until now retained the loyalty of the powerful military.

Spain is closely linked to Venezuela, a former colony, as some 200,000 of its nationals live there.

Sanchez insisted Saturday that Spain is "not looking to impose or remove governments in Venezuela, we want democracy and free elections in Venezuela."

#UPDATE The European Union told embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro they would recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as president unless he calls elections within eight days, an ultimatum the Venezuelan foreign minister rejected https://t.co/Hg2x1tsPEL

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 26, 2019

Dutch king to visit hurricane-hit Sint Maarten as relief effort picks up steam

DutchNews, September 11, 2017

Fresh water supplies reach Saba. Photo: Ministerie van Defensie / Gerben van Es
/ Hollandse Hoogte

King Willem-Alexander will visit the hurricane-hit Caribbean island of Sint Maarten on Monday as part of a short visit to meet locals and assess the relief effort. 

The king and home affairs minister Ronald Plasterk arrived on Curaçao on Sunday where they were briefed about the aid effort so far. They also visited a hospital to meet people who had been injured when hurricane Irma lashed the former Dutch colony last week.

‘I’m here in the first place to find out what has happened so far and what the coordination from Curaçao has done,’ the king told local media. ‘The only message I have so far is that we realise what has happened to you and we are doing our best to help everyone who needs it. You can count on our help.’ 

The evacuation of people injured by the hurricane has been completed and holidaymakers are now being brought out, news agency ANP said. It is unclear how many tourists are on the island. 

The US has evacuated some 3,000 tourists and American nationals who live there. 

Soldiers

Plasterk said he is impressed by what the police and military have achieved so far. He dismissed claims that the Netherlands has not done enough by pointing out that hundreds of people had already been dispatched to the islands before the hurricane hit. 

On Monday, fresh water will be distributed to people left without water supplies and equipment to turn sea water into drinking water is also being flown in. Some 550 Dutch soldiers are in the region to help with the relief effort. 

On the smaller islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius, which were not as badly hit as Sint Maarten, the roads have now been cleared of debris and made passable again, ANP said. 

Meanwhile, prime minister Mark Rutte told a news conference on Sunday that the death toll in the Dutch half of the island has risen to four, including two unidentified bodies which were washed ashore.

Trots op mijn staf en tijdelijke augmentees die 24/7 een topproduct neerzetten. Hartverwarmende aandacht voor onze inzet. @Defensie #Irma pic.twitter.com/G9jTVVFwIA

— Peter Jan de Vin (@C_ZMCARIB) September 11, 2017

French President Emmanuel Macron joins the Dutch monarch for a tour of the hurricane-hit islands of St Martin and St Barts pic.twitter.com/teY6NwjRsR

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 12, 2017

An aerial view of Hurricane Irma's destruction of Saint Martin pic.twitter.com/cKYFimcFVs

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 12, 2017

Cuba's Raul Castro in France for historic visit

Yahoo – AFP, Maria Carmona, February 1, 2016

Cuba's President Raul Castro (right) attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on February 1, 2016
(AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

Paris (AFP) - Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.

The Cuban leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.

Cuban President Raul Castro (left)

 pictured with French President Francois

 Hollande in Havana on May 12, 2015

(AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Police severely restricted access to spectators, and just a few groups of supporters of the Cuban regime were present.

Castro, 84, is on his first official trip to the European Union since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006, and spent the weekend in the French capital on a private visit.

France has led the way in welcoming Cuba back into the diplomatic fold since it restored relations last year with the United States after they were broken off for more than half a century.

French President Francois Hollande, who was to hold talks with Castro later Monday, has described the visit as "a new stage in the strengthening of relations between the two countries".

It builds on Hollande's own state visit to Cuba last May, the first by a head of state from the West in more than half a century.

Castro is the second former pariah to be welcomed to Paris in a matter of days, after Hollande hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week.

"This visit is important for Cuba's image," said Eduardo Perera, an international relations expert at Havana University.

Cuba's President Raul Castro is on his first official trip to the European Union

since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006 (AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

"It will undeniably make Cuba shine on the international stage."

Havana hopes the visit will allow Cuba to "widen and diversify its relations with France in all possible areas -- politics, economics, trade, finance, investment, culture and cooperation," said Rogelio Sierra, Cuban deputy foreign minister.

Although Washington has yet to lift its trade embargo on Cuba, US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as the island's economy gradually opens up.

Hollande urged an end to the blockade, which was imposed in 1962, on his Havana visit.

Trade delegations have been flocking to Cuba, hoping to cash in on its highly trained workforce and natural assets such as its sun-drenched Caribbean beaches, a draw for tourists.

Cuba, meanwhile, needs to tap new sources of income as its main ally and financial backer, Venezuela, is mired in economic and political crisis.

Trade between the two countries currently adds up to a modest $195 million (180 million euros), which is "not in line with our ambitions," France's minister of state for foreign trade Matthias Fekl told L'Humanite newspaper.

US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as 

Cuba's economy gradually opens up (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Debt write-off

The French trip is the first by a Cuban head of state since Fidel Castro visited then president Francois Mitterrand in 1995.

Castro will also attend a state dinner before meeting various French officials on Tuesday.

France recently engineered an agreement among the Paris Club of international creditors to write off $8.5 billion of Cuba's debt.

It could now agree to further debt relief, potentially widening Cuba's access to international financial markets.

France is also taking a leading role in strengthening Cuba's political ties with Europe as a whole.

Human rights remains a sensitive issue, with international authorities accusing the Castros of repressing and harassing their political opponents.

A diplomatic source in Paris said human rights "will be discussed" during the talks. Hollande faced criticism from rights groups after meeting with Fidel Castro last year.

There were also demonstrations against Rouhani's visit last week, although Hollande hailed a "new relationship" after sealing a slew of lucrative trade deals drawn up after nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted.

French President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with Cuban President 

Raul Castro upon his arrival on February 1, 2016 at the Elysee Presidential 

Palace in Paris (AFP Photo/Stephane de Sakutin)

Related Article:

France calls for end to US sanctions on Cuba during Castro visit

FIFA scandal engulfs Blatter and Platini

Yahoo – AFP, Benjamin Simon, 25 Sep 2015

FIFA President Sepp Blatter (L) shakes hands with UEFA president Michel 

Platini after being re-elected following a vote in Zurich on May 29, 2015 (AFP 

Photo/Michael Buholzer)

Zurich (AFP) - The FIFA scandal on Friday engulfed Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the two most powerful figures in world football, with Swiss prosecutors investigating whether a two million dollar payment from Blatter to the French legend was illegal.

Swiss investigators opened criminal proceedings against FIFA president Blatter and searched his office as they also quizzed UEFA counterpart Platini.

"Swiss criminal proceedings against the President of FIFA, Mr. Joseph Blatter, have been opened on September 24, 2015 on suspicion of criminal mismanagement...and -– alternatively -– misappropriation," said a statement from Switzerland's attorney general's office (OAG).

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner

 arrives at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates 

court for the extradition hearing against

 him, on September 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Alva Viarruel)

Blatter, 79, is standing down because of corruption scandals involving other top officials and Platini had been favourite to win an election to be held in February to succeed him.

The Swiss prosecutor said that "the defendant Joseph Blatter" had been questioned and "the office of the FIFA President has been searched and data seized".

Blatter was questioned as "a suspect". The statement added that Platini had been questioned "as a person called upon to give information".

Platini, 60, has been head of UEFA since January 2007 which made him an automatic FIFA vice-president.

Blatter's lawyer Richard Cullen said in a statement that the FIFA boss was cooperating with Swiss authorities and that a review of the evidence would show "no mismanagement occurred".

Blatter "is suspected of making a disloyal payment of 2.0 million Swiss francs ($2.04 million/1.8 million euros) to Michel Platini, president of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), at the expense of FIFA," the OAG said.

The alleged payment was made in February 2011 "for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002."

Later Friday, Platini insisted the payment had been for "contractual" work he had carried out.

"Concerning the payment that was made to me, I wish to state that this amount relates to work which I carried out under a contract with FIFA," said the UEFA boss.

"I was pleased to have been able to clarify all matters relating to this with the authorities."

FIFA this month suspended Blatter's right-hand man Jerome Valcke after he 

was accused of involvement in an accord to sell tickets for the 2014 World Cup 

at inflated prices (AFP Photo/Sebastien Bozon)

He added: "I also made clear to the Swiss authorities that since I live in Switzerland I am available to speak with them any time to clarify any matters relating to the investigations."

Friday's dramatic turn of events came after a press conference, that Blatter was scheduled to give, was cancelled.

Platini is a former Blatter ally who turned against the veteran Swiss sports baron over the past 18 months as FIFA's troubles mounted.

The investigation is also into Blatter's links with Jack Warner, a former FIFA vice-president now at the centre of a US investigation.

The attorney general said Blatter was suspected of making a deal "unfavourable to FIFA" with the Caribbean Football Union, which Warner used as his power base.

'Properly prepared'

According to Blatter's lawyer Cullen, who is based in Virginia, that contract was "properly prepared and negotiated" by FIFA staff with responsibility for such matters.

A Trinidad court on Friday announced that it would rule on December 2 on whether Warner should be extradited to the United States.

Warner is one of 14 soccer officials and business executives charged by US prosecutors of involvement in more than $150 million in bribes for football broadcasting and marketing deals.

Nearly all of the suspects are from central and South America. Until recent days, FIFA's top leadership had escaped accusations flying around the world body, which earns $5 billion from the World Cup.

Swiss officials arrested seven FIFA officials, who are among the US suspects, on May 27 in Zurich just ahead of the world body's congress.

Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term at the congress despite the storm but then announced on June 4 that he would stand down.

Since then FIFA has announced steps to make reforms but have been shaken by new corruption claims.

A TV crew prepares to film in front of 

the FIFA logo at the FIFA headquarters

 on September 25, 2015 in Zurich (AFP

Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

FIFA this month suspended Blatter's right-hand man Jerome Valcke after he was accused of involvement in an accord to sell tickets for the 2014 World Cup at inflated prices.

Valcke strongly denied the allegations but FIFA handed over emails from the suspended secretary general that had been demanded by the Swiss attorney general.

He is also under suspicion over what he knew about a $10 million payment from the South African FA to an account controlled by Warner through FIFA in 2008.

US prosecutors believe it was a bribe intended to get Caribbean support for South Africa's bid for 2010 World Cup.

Swiss prosecutors are also looking into FIFA's award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Both have strongly denied any wrongdoing in their campaigns to secure the tournaments.

US attorney general Loretta Lynch made it clear this month that her department's inquiry was growing and more major charges could be expected.

From Blatter to Webb: Key players in the #FIFA scandal pic.twitter.com/uzwQ09Eeum

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) 25 september 2015

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Hollande's Haiti visit draws protests

For many Haitians, the French president's visit reopened old wounds stemming from France's legacy of colonialism on the island. Some residents insist France pay reparations for its past crimes.

Deutsche Welle, 13 May 2015

Workers off the beach in the village of Basse-Terre along the southeastern
coast of Ile de la Tortue in the northwest region of Haiti attempt to fix a damaged
boat in early October 2014. (Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald/TNS)

French President Francois Hollande was in Haiti Tuesday to pledge economic assistance to the impoverished Caribbean nation, becoming the first of his country's presidents to make a formal state visit to France's former colony.

Abundant natural resources and plantation slavery once made Haiti France's most prized Caribbean possession, before the residents of what was then called St. Domingue gained independence from their French colonizers in an 1804 slave revolt.

For Haiti's government and business community, Hollande's visit is viewed as an opportunity to encourage investment and highlight the island nation's recovery from a devastating 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding regions.

But for some Haitians, Hollande's visit has reopened old wounds and is an unpleasant reminder of the crippling costs of the country's successful revolt for independence.

'Punished for our independence'

In 1825, encircled by French warships enforcing an international embargo, Haiti agreed to pay France an "independence debt" of 90 million gold coins in order to compensate former colonists for the costs of lost land and slaves. That sum is estimated to be worth $19 billion (17 billion euros) today.

"We Haitians know that a big reason why we are suffering today is because we were forced to pay France for our freedom. If we were not punished for our independence long ago, we would have had a better time," said Port-au-Prince resident Jean-Marc Bouchet to the Associated Press.

France will spend $145 million over
 the next five years on development
projects in Haiti

Some 200 protesters greeted Hollande upon his arrival at the Champ de Mars plaza to lay wreathes at the statues of heroes of Haiti's revolution.

"No negotiation, no compensation can repair the wounds of history that still mark us today," said Haitian President Michel Martelly. "Haiti has not forgotten, but Haiti is not stubborn," he added, attempting to quell the demands of many Haitians that France pay reparations for its brutal colonial legacy on the island.

"There is a moral debt that exists," Hollande said. "We can't change history, but we can change the future," he added.

France has refused to pay reparations, but Hollande said his nation will spend $145 million (130 million euros) over the next five years on development projects in Haiti, including $56 million (50 million euros) for education.

Doubt and cynicism

But for some Haitians, Hollande's pledge of economic assistance fell on deaf ears, with many in the impoverished nation demanding France pay for its past crimes.

"We believe French reparations should go to schools, hospitals, roads," 25-year-old law student Gymps Lucien, who was protesting Hollande's visit, told AP. "Our kids should have a better life."

Other residents were cynical about what President Martelly would do with the promised aid.

"He'll just keep it all for himself, and the poor will get nothing as usual" said protester Philistin Servilus, speaking with AFP. "France should build us houses and invest in factories, to give us jobs."

bw/cmk (AP, AFP, Reuters)

France's Hollande calls for end to US embargo on Cuba trip

Yahoo – AFP, Sabine Wibaux, 11 May 2015

French President Francois Hollande speaks upon his arrival at Jose Marti

Airport in Havana, on May 10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Havana (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande called Monday for an end to the US embargo on Cuba during a historic visit to the island, the first by a Western leader since Washington and Havana moved to restore ties.

Speaking on the half-century embargo at the start of his Cuba trip, the first ever by a French leader, Hollande said France will do whatever possible to see that "the measures that have so badly harmed Cuba's development can finally be lifted, repealed."

Hollande said his trip came "at a particularly important but also uncertain time," as both the United States and the European Union seek to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega (L) greets 

French President Francois Hollande (R)

 after receiving the Commander of the

 Legion of Honor Order, at the French 

embassy in Havana, on May 11, 2015

(AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

France will do what it can to "see that opening reaffirmed," he said in a speech at the University of Havana.

Since announcing in December that the United States and Cuba would move to renew ties after more than half a century, US President Barack Obama has used his executive authority to relax several aspects of the embargo, including restrictions on travel and sending money to the island.

He has called on Congress to lift the full embargo, in place since 1962, but with both houses under Republican control, he faces an uphill political battle.

Cuba says the embargo, which it refers to as "the blockade," has cost it more than $100 billion.

Call for 'opening'

Hollande, who was later due to meet Cuban President Raul Castro, also urged Cuba to open up its economy, saying there was vast interest in doing business with the island.

France is seeking to "be the first among European nations, and the first among Western nations, to be able to say to the Cubans that we will be at their side if they decide themselves to take needed steps toward opening up," he told reporters before arriving in Havana late Sunday.

Castro has presided over gradual economic and social reforms since taking over in 2006 from his older brother Fidel, the leader of the 1959 revolution that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista and eventually made Cuba a one-party communist state.

Hollande's office has said he is available to meet with Fidel Castro as well, but Havana has not confirmed face-to-face talks.

The French leader hit again on the theme of "openness" as he bestowed France's highest honor on the head of the Catholic Church in Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, a key figure in the island's growing rapprochement with the West.

"You continue to stand for the opening of Cuba," he said, praising Ortega's role in mediating with Cuba's one-party communist government, including during the US rapprochement talks and negotiations for the release of some 130 political prisoners in 2010.

Hollande said on arrival in Havana that it filled him with "great emotion" to be the first French leader to visit Cuba since it gained independence in 1898.

Several agreements will be signed during the trip, though the details of the deals were not made public. Hollande said the accords would focus on improved access to Latin American markets.

The visit follows a meeting Sunday between Raul Castro and Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the Cuban leader thanked the pontiff for his role in brokering the historic detente between Havana and Washington.

French President Francois Hollande (C) confers with Rogelio Sierra (L), Cuba's 

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, upon arrival at Jose Marti Airport on May 10,

2015 in Havana (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Row over rights

In addition to economic issues, the trip is also a chance to discuss human rights. Activists have criticized Cuba's right record, accusing Havana of cracking down on dissidents and free press.

The European Union suspended relations with Cuba in 2003 over a crackdown on journalists and activists, but it opened talks to restore ties in April 2014 -- well before December's announcement of the US-Cuban thaw -- aiming to persuade Havana to improve its rights record.

France, which has made its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean a foreign policy priority, has along with the Netherlands been a strong supporter of the normalization of ties between Cuba and the 28-member EU.

French officials recognize the importance of the EU positioning itself politically and economically for when the US embargo is eventually lifted.

Trade between France and Cuba is modest, worth around $388 million a year, with the balance solidly in France's favor.

Hollande has already made stops in Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Martinique and Guadeloupe and will end his five-day Caribbean tour in Haiti on Tuesday.

Shopping a Daily Puzzle on Remote St. Helena

Jakarta Globe, Jean Liou, Apr 19, 2015

This picture taken on March 10, 2015 shows the entrance of the Rose and
 Crown shop in Jamestown in Jamestown on the tiny island of St. Helena. (AFP
Photo/Jean Liou)

Jamestown. If you think grocery shopping is a chore, spare a moment for those on the tiny island of Saint Helena who never know what will be on the shelves from one day to the next.

The 4,200 inhabitants of Saint Helena have resigned themselves to the reality that choice is a luxury in a place where supplies come only every three weeks on a ship from Cape Town

“This is like living under Soviet rule,” jokes Francois Haffner, a French tourist determined to eat well on the remote South Atlantic island, famous as the place the French military leader Napoleon was exiled until his death in 1821.

“In the first store there is butter, in another there are lemons, and in the third you can find some cream. There are no greens, and eggs aren’t there every day,” said an exasperated Haffner.

“The fish comes at 1:00 pm, the bread after 11:00 am — but no later than 12 noon — and all the shops close at 5:00 pm.”

The shopping schedule requires that hungry tourists and residents dedicate a good chunk of time to planning how to fill their stomachs.

“There are no stores where you can find everything, and shopping takes some time,” said Haffner.

A sign displayed in a shop in Jamestown
on the tiny island of Saint Helena. (AFP
Photo/Jean Liou)

Choice is a luxury

Still, he is determined never to visit the frozen food section, which was stocked with last year’s Christmas pudding in March.

In contrast with Haffner, the 4,200 inhabitants of the British island are more relaxed about the grocery situation, having resigned themselves to the reality that choice is a luxury in a place where supplies come only every three weeks on a ship from Cape Town.

As a result, shopping in the island’s capital, Jamestown, requires some flexibility and a close knowledge of the ship’s schedule.

“Of course, you do not want to starve, but it is better not to look for something specific,” says David Pryce, a native of England who studies insects on the island.

A successful islander has to balance patience with spontaneity, he says.

“You have to make the rounds of stores every day. And if you see something, you have to buy it.”

However, sometimes excitement over new items causes problems, says Tara Thomas, whose family owns four convenience stores.

“When bottled water hits the shop, people bulk buy. They panic buy, and they create another shortage,” she says.

“If people had a normal consumer behavior, we wouldn’t have so many problems.”

Little local produce

Most produce on the island comes from Britain or South Africa.

Little is made domestically. There are cows, for example, but no fresh milk. “We have farmers, but they do not produce enough,” moans Thomas.

What little local produce exists is often bartered between islanders or snapped up by hotels and restaurants before reaching the shelves.

Still, some are hoping to capitalize on the scarcity. Mirroring the fashion overseas for self-sufficiency, entrepreneurs have started small-scale farming.

Joshua Martin, 39, has set up a business delivering tomatoes and cucumbers that he produces in polytunnels.

While his venture is a success, Martin complains there is little coordination between the producers. “Everyone produces the same,” he says.

Then there is the issue of reliability.

“The problem is that we are not regular,” says Aaron Legg, a 30-year-old guide who grows bananas. “Retailers cannot rely on us and they have to import.”

It’s not for lack of want, says Legg, who plans to start growing onions.

“The island imports 70 tons of onions a year from South Africa,” he says incredulously. “If there were onions every day on the shelves people would buy more. There is a huge market.”

Half empty shelfs at an emporium in Jamestown on the tiny island
of Saint Helena. (AFP Photo/Jean Liou)

Shop owners worry that with such short supply they will not be able to accommodate an influx of tourists when weekly flights start between the island and Johannesburg in February next year.

With the monthly ship service set to end after the introduction of the flights, retailers worry their produce options will decrease.

Now they’re in a quandary. “It is not profitable for a ship to come more often,” says Nick Thorpe, one of the leading importers on the island.

“I have the feeling that if they want the ship to come more often, they will have to subsidize it,” he says.

Whether or not that will happen is another story.

Agence France-Presse

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The Man Who Keeps Napoleon’s Memory Alive

Jakarta Globe, Jean Liou, Apr 16, 2015

Honorary French Consul in Saint Helena, Michel Dancoisne-Martineau,
poses on March 12, 2015, next to the flag pole in the garden of Napoleon's last
 residence, known as Longwood House, in Jamestown on the British island
of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. (AFP Photo/Jean Liou)

Jamestown. Michel Dancoisne-Martineau knows that the story of Napoleon’s life in exile is timeless — and irresistible.

The Frenchman is tasked with preserving the property where Napoleon Bonaparte lived after being exiled to the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in 1815 and remained until his death six years later.

”I have a product and I am trying to sell it,” he said.

One of the few Frenchmen on the British island of just 4,200 people, Dancoisne-Martineau manages a 16.5 hectare plot of French territory.

”I want this to last after me,” said the smiling 49-year-old as his dog Papillon [Butterfly] lay at the foot of the bed where France’s greatest military hero died.

Dancoisne-Martineau, who took up his job in 1987, has spearheaded an ambitious project to renovate Longwood House, the home of the former emperor.

The upgrade could not come at a better time.

Napoleon Bonaparte's dining room at his last residence, known as
Longwood House, in Jamestown, Saint Helena. (AFP Photo/Jean Liou)

Next year, St Helena plans to start weekly flight service from Johannesburg — which has only been accessible by a five-day boat journey — in what many islanders hope will result in a significant boost to the tourism sector.

Dancoisne-Martineau intends to be ready.

”Hopefully, we will privatise the management of the building,” he said. “There will be a shop and ticketed entry.”

The property includes Napoleon’s house in Longwood and “Geranium Valley” — the peaceful site where the ex-emperor wanted to be buried if his remains weren’t sent back to his beloved homeland.

Dancoisne-Martineau started by renovating “the generals’ rooms” that housed Napoleon’s companions in exile.

Razed in 1860 and shoddily rebuilt in 1933, the cost to repair the building totalled more than 1.4 million euros ($1.5 million).

The French government committed to footing half of the bill, and he had to find the other half.

Despite the hefty price tag, the upgrade wasn’t difficult to finance.

A sign post on the road leading to Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb in
Jamestown on the British island of Saint Helena. (AFP Photo/Jean Liou)

A labour of love

”An international campaign was conducted with the Napoleon Foundation to raise funds and it has since garnered 1.5 million euros,” said the curator, with a smile.

With the leftover money, Dancoisne-Martineau has started improving the wing of the house occupied by the ex-emperor before he died age 52, plagued by boredom and haunted by spite.

When Napoleon lived there under guard “there was standing water under the floor, water running down the walls, rats were everywhere and there was a permanent musty smell,” said Dancoisne-Martineau.

He choose to present the house the way it was the day Napoleon died — minus the rats and dampness.

”But I didn’t let the walls crumble,” he added.

The refurbished apartments, with guest rooms and seminar facilities, will be inaugurated on October 15 to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s arrival on the island.

After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon surrendered to the English, hoping for lenient treatment. He must have never imagined they would banish him to a no-man’s land so far from Europe.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s deathbed at his last
 residence, known as Longwood House, in
 Jamestown, Saint Helena. (AFP Photo/
Jean Liou)

Yet, the distance has not stopped people from visiting.

”People do come for Napoleon,” said Mark Capes, the island’s governor.

”For St Helena, the Napoleon legacy is very important, because he is part of what makes St Helena, he is part of our history.

”We celebrate it, and it is part of our marketing.”

As part of the restoration project, Dancoisne-Martineau has sent 32 pieces of furniture to France.

Next year, Les Invalides, a French military complex that houses Napoleon’s grave in Paris, will display them for an exhibition marking the bicentenary of his exile, along with some luxury items that the former French emperor had taken with him.

For Dancoisne-Martineau, a wave of sightseers would be the best way to end his custodianship of Napoleon’s final years before he steps down, maybe as early as next year.

”I’ll resume painting, I abandoned it 15 years ago,” he said.

In the meantime, he has started repairing the roof of a house in Briars Pavilion, above the capital Jamestown, where Napoleon stayed for two months after his arrival in 1815, before moving to Longwood.

That repair isn’t in the official renovation budget. But for Dancoisne-Martineau, preserving Napoleon’s memory has become a labour of love: he’s paying for the roof repairs out of his own pocket.

Agence France-Presse

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