Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-15-Speech-4-196"
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"en.20010215.8.4-196"2
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".
Mr President, some of the world’s governments are violating the fundamental rules in which the common values of the international community are enshrined. Article 18 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Since 1991, Islamic Sharia law has applied in Pakistan. The precepts and prohibitions laid down in the Koran are the supreme law of the land. The law against blasphemy has palpably impaired the largely peaceful coexistence of Muslims with Christians and other religious minorities. Freedom of expression and the freedom of the press have been severely curtailed.
Once again, journalists – seven of them this time – have been arrested on the flimsy pretext that they allegedly distributed anti-Islamic writings. It looks once more as if the whole purpose of this is to make a public example of them. But it is far more serious than that, because they could be sentenced to death. We call on General Musharaf’s military government to restore the independence of the judiciary and to delay no longer in allowing the courts to conduct proceedings in accordance with sound legal principles. The Blasphemy Act must be repealed. It is being interpreted in an absolutely arbitrary manner and opens the door to all sorts of manipulation and malicious lawsuits.
The death penalty is rejected by a great majority of the people‘s representatives, not only in Europe but also in a growing number of Asian countries. It must be abolished. The PPE-DE Group calls on the European Commission to review all its agreements with Pakistan as a matter of urgency and to revise them as necessary. We need cooperation agreements with the human rights organisations and with the regional non-governmental organisations. The paramount aim of our initiatives must be to ensure that Pakistan can at last resume its journey towards a free democratic system of government."@en1
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