Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-01-Speech-4-013"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010301.1.4-013"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, according to my group, the bombings which we are debating here are the wrong response to a real problem. Let us start with the legal basis, which is extremely dubious, to say the least. My group is in favour of maintaining the no-fly zone, but without a new statement by the Security Council, there is no legal basis for the present air strikes. The air strikes are wrong because they are counter-productive: Saddam is the hero of the Arab, and also the Palestinian, people, and this will only make it more difficult to find a solution to the Middle East problem.
That does not mean that my group questions the fact that there
a problem or that nothing should be done about it. We share the view that Saddam still forms the main threat to stability in the Middle East and that Iraq is a country where human rights are being violated systematically and on a massive scale.
I am pleased that Commissioner Patten has already mentioned that he is in favour of changing the current regime. We could talk at great length about this issue. After ten years of sanctions, it is not Saddam who has suffered the most, but the Iraqi people. Saddam has applied extreme cynicism to benefit his own PR at the expense of his own people. I am therefore pleased that most of you appear to be in favour of changing the sanctions.
The embargo on weapons and strategic goods must remain in place and might even have to be tightened, whilst the current regime must be replaced by what are known as smart sanctions. However, we must continue to insist on weapon inspectors being admitted. We should not allow the regime to keep developing biological, chemical and even nuclear facilities. As the previous speaker has already mentioned, we should not forget Haladja. The international community must have access to Iraq and be able to control arms development in that country.
Finally, with regard to the action to be undertaken, I would like to urge the Swedish Presidency to implement the resolution of the European Parliament of November last year, which requested an ad-hoc international tribunal to be established for Iraq. In this way, Europe would be able to play an autonomous role in world politics by exercising a restraining influence on the United States without giving in to the demands of Iraq and Saddam. It will also be able to exercise a restraining influence on Great Britain which believes that, through its action, it can act as a bridge between America and the European Union but which, at this rate, will be more of a hindrance than anything else."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
"is"1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples