Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-16-Speech-4-151"

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"en.20041216.12.4-151"2
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"Mr President, comparisons can be drawn between Congo’s present situation and that of Germany during the Thirty Years’ War – a large country in the middle of a continent broken up, with various groups allying themselves with an assortment of neighbouring powers, and decades without peace. That is precisely what has been going on in Congo for decades, with people dying in their millions, vast stretches of land lying waste, and the economy crippled. As was the case in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War, there will be no resolution unless – as happened with the religious groups then – the ethnic groups can be brought into a peace process that also involves all the neighbouring states. That is why we see it as important that massive pressure should be brought to bear on the states bordering this country of great lakes, and especially on Rwanda, in order that it may bring stability once and for all and may be deterred from active intervention in Congo, which is already suffering so much. We will not, however, succeed in that by words alone, and so Mr Langen and I have started to develop a holistic strategy which finally interlinks economic policy, foreign policy and development policy. Words alone will be no use to us in this situation; Europe will be able to use its weight only if it makes simultaneous and strategic use of the economic, political and diplomatic options available to it and really gets actively involved in this peace process. Commissioner, you might well ask yourself what the use is of having this debate on a Thursday afternoon in a Chamber that is not exactly full. I can remember a time when this House debated how Lithuania could become more than a colony subject to Soviet oppression, and today we have a Lithuanian Commissioner in our midst. Of that I am glad, and I am sure that you are well able to handle this issue of peace and human rights in Congo."@en1

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