Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-12-Speech-3-230"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030212.7.3-230"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I refer to the motion for a resolution. It is something of an emotional muddle and manages to confuse three unrelated elements: anti-tank mines, cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions. It fails to comprehend the nature of the work being done by the group of governmental experts on explosive remnants of war – a sensible body which is mindful of the need for the right balance between humanitarian concerns and military utility in regard to certain weapons. The armed forces of our nations, and those of our NATO allies, are the most conscious of the need to protect civilian populations, avoid collateral damage and ensure that dangers to our own troops are minimised.
On landmines, I am proud to have been actively involved in the work to ban anti-personnel landmines and to have been instrumental in helping large-scale funding for assistance to mine victims and for mine clearance operations. I congratulate the Commission in its continuing work in this area. Our armed forces agreed that they could operate without anti-personnel landmines. Anti-vehicle or anti-tank mines are a different matter. Their humanitarian consequences are altogether less significant, and they are an indispensable military weapon as long as there are tanks on the battle field. Unexploded ordnance is a problem in post-conflict situations and more work needs to be done on self-destruction and detection of munitions.
The very words 'depleted uranium' conjure up all sorts of fears and ideas related to radiation which seem to be wholly misplaced. It is recognised that there could be a small risk from toxic dust for those working unprotected in close proximity to a vehicle hit by depleted uranium ammunition. While I keep an open mind, there is currently no reliable medical evidence to link depleted uranium with ill health, either of troops or of local people.
This resolution is not really about any of these things. It is wild scaremongering. It calls for an immediate moratorium on munitions which are key weapons for use by coalition airforces and armoured forces currently deploying to the Gulf. It is no coincidence perhaps that it follows an Iraqi proposition in the UN last October which sought to designate depleted uranium as a weapon of mass destruction. This ruse was heavily defeated in the United Nations, only to reappear now in the European Parliament. I hope that Members of this House will be very discriminating when they come to vote on the resolution tomorrow."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples