Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-05-Speech-4-221"
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"en.20010405.12.4-221"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, although, as Mrs Isler Béguin has said, the hostages have been released, I think that what we must consider here is that we can in no way regard the taking of hostages as a political act. I believe that this is above all an act of cowardice, of barbarism, which is unacceptable. The message that should have been given when the hostages were taken must remain exactly the same one now. Therefore, Mr President, we must continue to give our solidarity, with the same conviction, to all those working behind the scenes, to all the NGOs which are easy targets for one simple reason – and that is because they often work in a non-partisan manner. Their members bring relief to all those in need, regardless of their political beliefs, and I think that this is what makes them extremely easy targets –vulnerable targets. We must therefore continue to give them our unwavering support.
Next, Mr President, I believe that we must appoint a permanent representative for this affair who can monitor the situation in Somalia, as we did during the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Initial progress has been made with the appointment of the interim democratic Government, a Government that is recognised in the international courts and which has managed to quell the unrest throughout the region. I believe that we must now go further by also forcing this Government to take its place around the negotiating table with all the parties, all the political parties, involved in this conflict. Most importantly, we, be it the European Union, the UN or the Organisation for African Unity (OAU), must ensure that there is a total weapons embargo and that this embargo is strictly complied with. We must condemn in the strongest possible terms any supply of illegal weapons.
Somalia is unfortunately experiencing a period of great instability due to all the fighting between various factions, which has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. It is the people who are paying the price. Violence is bringing about famine, famine brings about wars, and wars are bringing about disease, against a background of general indifference. We must send an equally powerful message."@en1
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