Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-12-Speech-3-011"
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"en.20010912.1.3-011"2
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"Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Prodi, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my group’s sincere thanks to you, Madam President, for having convened this sitting, which gives us all an opportunity to express our deepest sympathy for and solidarity with those families that have suffered losses, with the President of the United States of America, with our colleagues in the US Congress and with everyone in the United States of America.
Yesterday’s horrendous attack in Washington and New York was not just an attack on the United States, but an attack on the entire civilised world, an attack against every one of us, including those in this Chamber. It was an attack on our ideals of democracy, human rights and peace. We are filled with grief and horror in the face of this disaster, a disaster which must never be repeated, and the forces of civilisation throughout the world must now work shoulder to shoulder with the United States to bring those responsible for this attack to account, and we must work closely together to prevent future terrorist attacks. We must find a way to stop attacks of this kind being planned again, and this will also require a whole new dimension in European and international cooperation.
We must commit ourselves today to launching a fight against terrorism, so that the apocalyptic events in New York and Washington do not mean a global apocalypse tomorrow, and as a Parliament we can be proud of the fact that last week we adopted Mr Watson's anti-terrorism report by such a huge majority.
For a few hours yesterday I had the impression that the United States' ability to act had been compromised. The United States is a world power to which we owe a debt of gratitude for fighting against Nazism in the Second World War and thus guaranteeing a peaceful future for Europe and it is a world power which has firmly resisted totalitarian communism, which ultimately led to the collapse of the wall dividing Berlin, Germany and Europe. On behalf of my group I would like to say that it is in our interest for America to retain its ability to act and to be strong, and for America to remain a good partner and friend to the European Union, and we should work together towards this goal in future.
We do not know who the perpetrators are. There are certain assumptions, but I would counsel against surmising that these assumptions are true. Above all, should these assumptions be confirmed, I would counsel us all against applying them to the Arab and Islamic world as a whole. I have never forgotten an outstanding speech given by Anwar al Sadat, the assassinated President of Egypt, on 10 February 1981. He said that Islam should never be judged by the misguided and irresponsible actions of people professing to be adherents of this great faith. Islam is a religion based on tolerance, not fanaticism, a religion based on love, not hate, and it is a coherent religion based on order, not chaos.
We should beware of making generalisations, and we should make it clear that we not only wish to live in partnership with our American friends, but that we also want to live in partnership and, if possible, friendship with those Arab and Islamic countries that are committed to peace.
We should commit ourselves today to building an order in Europe and throughout the world in conjunction with all our neighbours – an order in which Europe is strong and united. That is why, Mr President-in-Office, it gives such an impressive signal that both you and the President of the Commission are here today, a signal that we Europeans are united and strong, and that we wish to coexist in friendship and partnership with all our neighbours, on the basis of human rights, democracy, freedom, social well-being and, above all, peace. That must be the message we send out today, the day after the dreadful events of 11 September 2001."@en1
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