Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-03-Speech-4-183"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2003-07-03"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Laos2
dcterms:Language	"de"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20030703.12.4-183"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2003-07-03-Speech-4-1842
lpv:speaker	lp:Bernd Posselt2
lpv:spokenAs	member; EPP-ED (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 vice-chair; Delegation to the EU-Czech Republic Joint Parliamentary Committee (2002-02-07--2004-04-30)3 unknown; Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V. (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, important though they are, minorities and European journalists are not the sole foci of our attention today; our concern is with the people of Laos themselves. Laos is an ancient kingdom and very rich in culture; it was, as a country, peaceful and tolerant, which, in the days when it was a kingdom, was a threat to nobody. I am glad that the Laotian royal family are present with us today. In the course of the twentieth century, the country became a victim – firstly of colonialism, then of the Second World War and, last but not least, of the conflict between East and West. It was brutally wrecked by Communist occupation. It must be clear to us that, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, our task is to ensure that Laos becomes a flourishing democratic country rather than ending up as a museum of real-life socialism. We therefore declare that human rights and the rule of law need to be reinforced, that freedom of faith and conscience need to be respected, and that political prisoners must be set free. As a matter of priority, Laos must become freely accessible to the media, so that the world can learn what is actually going on there, and so that the country’s continuing deficiencies are not hidden from it. We in the European Union seek cooperation with Laos. We will abide by the trade and cooperation agreement if the human rights to which it refers are respected, but if this human rights clause is disregarded and treated as nothing but a joke, then we will have to put a question mark against our cooperation – with the regime rather than with the Laotian people – and make it perfectly clear that, while trade, business and cooperation are necessary, they are founded upon law, underpinned by human rights and by the values on which our global community depends. It is for that reason that we make it our concern that Laos should once more be free, democratic and under the rule of law."@en1
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"(Applause)"1

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