Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20030115.1.3-014"2
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"Mr President, we should applaud the action of President Karzai who, faced with countless problems, has set in motion the creation of a new Constitution and the formation of a national army, essential cornerstones for the construction of a secular, democratic and functional state. The facts set out at the Petersberg Conference are encouraging: EUR 830 million already allocated by Europe, with a tangible impact on medicine and health, education – education which is now finally accessible to girls too – security through mine-clearing and the deactivation of unexploded bombs, agriculture, the restoration of urban areas, the reconstruction of infrastructure and return and assistance for refugees who are at last going back to their country.
There is, however, still a long way to go: many of the funds allocated by Europe are still frozen, and we need a stronger commitment by our countries’ governments to the democratic development of Afghanistan. A key issue for development, in fact, is to expand agriculture, which will take land away from opium cultivation. At this point, it is clear that not just the Union but also individual national governments, their Ministers for Agriculture, possibly also in conjunction with national farmers’ organisations, must help Afghanistan and Afghan farmers with more immediacy to reconvert their crops, with, moreover, the help of specialists and experts in this area.
The terrorism emergency is, in any case, unresolved and Europe must renew its political and moral commitment to helping the secular governments of those Muslim countries that wish to combat fundamentalist extremism. Members of the various terrorist networks are not only continuing to operate in areas of Afghanistan not yet controlled by the government but, in fact, live and are active in bordering countries and are operationally linked with areas which have become centres for attracting and recruiting others, such as certain areas of Somalia and South-East Asia.
Support for Afghanistan goes beyond the exclusively political or economic principle of international cooperation, and constitutes a very real challenge for the protection of civilisation, the dignity of peoples and freedom now and in the future.
With regard to the issue of women, this is still a vast and ongoing problem, but it is helpful to point out that there are female Ministers in Afghanistan, such as the Minister for Women’s Affairs, and that the First Counsellor of the Afghan Embassy in Brussels is a woman who works and actively collaborates with the government precisely in order to improve the status of women.
Finally, we cannot, in this first report on free Afghanistan, forget Commander Massoud and Europe’s lethargy when he asked for help just a few months before being assassinated and before the Twin Towers tragedy. We would therefore reiterate the call on Parliament to award him the Sakharov Prize posthumously, or better still, to establish a Massoud Prize to be bestowed on those who tragically, have lost their lives defending their people and freedom."@en1
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