Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-11-17-Speech-3-127"
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"en.19991117.5.3-127"2
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"Mr President, Members of the European Parliament, Commissioner Patten has given a very analytical and well considered presentation on this issue. We can fully agree with the points he raised. This autumn we have followed daily, with growing concern, the continued military action in Chechnya. Of particular worry is the fact that the Russian government has still not – despite its promises – begun to look for a political solution to the crisis but, instead, relies solely on military action. Moscow’s political goals regarding Chechnya in the longer term are still obscure.
I appreciate the European Parliament’s interest in the situation in Chechnya. I would now briefly like to tell you of our assessment, firstly of the military crisis in Chechnya and, secondly of the humanitarian crisis there. Thirdly, I will speak about the action taken thus far by the European Union and the international community, and the aims we have for Chechnya.
Militarily, Russia controls just under half the Chechen territory, and is advancing systematically. On Friday last week, Russia took the city of Gudermes and may also in time take Grozny. Russia’s apparent aim is to bring the whole of Chechnya back under Russian control. For Prime Minister Putin, the war has also so far been an internal political success.
During the autumn the European Union has repeated its concern regarding the disproportionate use of force in Chechnya. This has caused a number of civilian victims and an ever-continuing increase in the number of internal refugees. The use of force against civilians is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Through its action, Russia is in violation of the Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol. Indiscriminate bombing has been responsible for many civilian victims.
The European Union has underlined the need for rapid de-escalation of the conflict and urged Russia to commence negotiations for a lasting solution to the problem. It is clear that a basically political conflict cannot be solved militarily."@en1
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