Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-27-Speech-3-045"
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"en.20050427.7.3-045"2
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"Mr President, I should like to focus on the paragraph in the report that relates to Belarus, a country which, according to the report, increasingly resembles an island in the midst of Europe. Members of the opposition have been kidnapped and murdered, elections rigged, demonstrators imprisoned and the press gagged. On top of all of this, the authorities have recently banned citizens from studying abroad without their consent, and imposed restrictions on trips to work legally in other countries. Polish citizens are also being given the opportunity to experience the ‘blessings’ of this kolkhoz-style Communism at first hand, as several of them have had their lorries and cars confiscated for transporting three cartons of cigarettes. I find it quite astonishing that we can stand idly by, and even draft European principles of cross-border cooperation, when not a day passes without us hearing of fresh violations of human rights in a country that is a direct neighbour of the EU. Only yesterday, more than 40 demonstrators were arrested for attempting to commemorate the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The efforts of the Commission and the Council have merely served to hold back the process of transformation in Belarus, as nearly six months have passed since Parliament’s resolution on the matter, and precisely nothing has happened. Projects intended to promote civil society have got stuck at the stage of analysis, discussion and ordered debates at countless seminars and summit meetings. The Commission does not believe that funding radio stations to broadcast from neighbouring countries would provide added value. In other words, it does not perceive any benefit in values such as freedom of the media, or in providing a source of information other than the Belarussian propaganda. There is now talk of pursuing a common policy on Belarus with Russia. In this connection, I would ask what kind of human rights we would be able to protect in Belarus by cooperating with Russia, and how we would be able to protect them. Would this entail waiting until the hysterical dictator has wronged even more of his fellow citizens? Alternatively, should we leave it to the Americans to come up with a solution to problems in a country bordering the EU, merely because we are more interested in what is going on in Madagascar?"@en1
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