Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-08-Speech-3-212"
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"en.20050608.18.3-212"2
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".
Mr President, much as I welcome the response from the Council presidency and from Commissioner Borg to the effect that they want to exert more pressure on the Uzbek Government and that they also want to target aid more directly towards Uzbek refugees, that cannot conceal the fact that the explosion of violence and the uprising in Uzbekistan are the result of a mixture of abject poverty, heavy political pressure on the part of the state and Muslim fundamentalism. The brutality with which the Uzbek Government has responded is setting the earth smouldering in Uzbekistan. In that light, the European Union cannot afford to remain on the fence, for we, including the European Parliament, have a solid relationship with that country. After all, we also have a cooperation delegation for Central Asia. Every year, the European Union spends EUR 10 million in aid to Uzbekistan, including a sum for the Uzbek parliament. In the 2005 budget, I tabled an amendment against this with the intention of freezing part of the budget. Unfortunately, the amendment was rejected by a majority of one vote. That is odd, since the majority of political parties in Uzbekistan were forbidden to take part in the parliamentary elections.
What is now needed is for the European Union to exert more pressure to get reforms implemented and the legal structure improved. In addition, all aid that passes via the government or parliament should be frozen, for European resources should not be used to fund state repression. Civil society and NGOs also need to be supported, and the freedom of the press and religion guaranteed, for it is too crazy for words that churches, among others, should be obstructed and harassed despite being completely unconnected with religious fundamentalism, let alone terrorism or anything else. In the long run, the political pressure will need to lead to more political freedom and fresh elections. This is essential, for Uzbekistan, albeit still a poverty-stricken country, has a growing economy. It is crucial to stability in the region that economic growth should go hand in hand with true democracy and freedom of expression of opinion."@en1
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