Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-15-Speech-3-040"
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"en.20040915.2.3-040"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as we discuss the prospects for Iraq, we see before us the images coming out of that country. They are images of war, a war that seems never-ending, a conflict that leaves no room for easy optimism.
At the same time we anguish over the hostages, that odious form of violence and blackmail. The international community has to be united to save those people, who are journalists and volunteers, as well as citizens of Iraq and of other countries. We here should put out an appeal to the Arab and Islamic world to isolate terrorism and reduce the consensus around that kind of violence. At the same time, I believe we should appeal to the provisional Iraqi Government and to the international coalition forces to allow the efforts to obtain the release of the hostages to proceed unhindered, that is, to suspend their military operations and bombings, which cause so many civilian victims in the Iraqi towns and certainly do not help to create a suitable climate for negotiations that may save the captives’ lives.
Looking beyond the tragic hostage crisis, we have turned our attention in the speeches by the representatives of the Council and the Commission to Iraq’s current situation and prospects. It is clear that to get out of this terrible crisis there needs to be political change both within Iraq and, in a more general sense, in the fight against terrorism, as has also emerged from this morning’s debate. The war and the military occupation of Iraq have proved to be a tragic mistake. Instead of containing terror, they have made it stronger and more dangerous; they have spread hatred of the West throughout the Islamic world and are in danger of embroiling the world in a clash of civilisations, which is the most fertile soil for fundamentalism.
From Iraq to Chechnya and Palestine, the mindset of war, brutal repression and the denial of human rights and the rights of peoples has helped terrorism. It is now time to take a different road. This does not mean giving up the use of force, but re-establishing the primacy of politics and international law. We are not criticising the US conservatives for having fought against terrorism. On the contrary, we criticise them for having conducted the fight in the wrong way, adding to the insecurity in the world.
What is needed is a return to multilateralism and a recognition that restoring peace in Iraq will probably require very clear and brave decisions. For example, the presence of US armed forces in the country is unlikely to help to restore peace, since it is evident that those who wanted the war and carried it out are attracting terrorism through their presence there, rather than bringing calm. It has to be realised that these forces must be withdrawn at the time of the elections and replaced under UN authority with forces from countries not involved in the conflict. In every area of activity there is a need to return to politics, multilateralism and international law. That is the feeling in Europe, and that is the feeling in this Parliament. We need strong institutions that are able to turn this feeling into coherent political action and not just into an appeal.
Lastly, I should like to thank Commissioner Patten for his work and also for his words this morning which, in a fine speech if nothing else, reflected the prevailing feeling of the people of Europe."@en1
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