Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-30-Speech-3-089"
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"en.20051130.12.3-089"2
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education, the committee responsible for young people and sport, I particularly welcome today's debate in plenary on the recent motion for a resolution by the Committee on Culture on the Olympic Truce, in the run-up to the winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Turin next February.
In July 2000, following the proposal of the Greek Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time, Georgios Papandreou, who was also the inspiration behind it, we safeguarded the Olympic Truce institutionally with the foundation by the International Olympic Committee and the Greek Government of an International Olympic Truce Centre and an International Olympic Truce Foundation, as a platform for debate with the objective of resolving conflicts and establishing the culture of peace through sport and the Olympic ideal and galvanising people, especially young people, into action. It is worth pointing out that our honourable friend, Mr Stavros Lambrinidis, was the first director of the International Olympic Truce Centre and coordinator of this endeavour.
The idea of the Olympic Truce comes from a deep conviction that sport and the sporting ideal can help to create a peaceful and better world. It is the longest lasting condition for peace in the history of mankind and it is an exceptionally valuable tool for diplomacy, offering a vitally important opportunity for the peaceful settlement of crises through dialogue and education. This achievement will constitute a small revolution in today's world. I therefore believe that we too should contribute both with our words and our actions to making this a reality.
The European Parliament and, in particular, the Committee on Culture and Education, as during the previous Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens, is expressing its support today for the idea of the Olympic Truce and is calling on the Council to take specific measures so that it will be adhered to during the games in Turin.
As you all know, the idea of the Olympic Truce dates back to the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. In ancient times, the Greek city states which took part in the games ceased all hostilities from the seventh day before the start of the games until the seventh day after they had ended, so that the athletes, artists and spectators could travel without fear to Olympia in order to take part in the games and return home in safety.
From the ninth century B.C., when the institution of the Olympic Truce was born with the signature of a peace treaty between the kings of Sparta, Elis and Pisa, until 393 A.D., the year in which the Olympic Games were abolished, the Olympic Truce was observed for 12 successive centuries to the degree which it deserves and contributed to respect for the institution of the Olympic Games.
Today, on the threshold of the 21st century, the idea of the Olympic Truce is reviving, forming – we might say – the bridge between the ancient tradition and the modern world because, beyond the noble ideal which the Olympic Games profess, it is extremely important that we give this major sporting and cultural event additional momentum with the objective of establishing global peace. In this way, not only are we reviving the overall idea of the Olympic Games, of which the Olympic Truce forms an integral part, but we are also giving new impetus and prospects to the Olympic Games.
At this point, I should like to reiterate, briefly, the steps which we have made over recent years in order to establish the idea of the Olympic Truce throughout the world.
In 1992, the International Olympic Committee called on the international community to cease all hostilities during the 1992 Olympic Games.
In 1994, during the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, weapons were quiet in Sarajevo and, four years later, in February 1998 during the Olympic Games in Nagano, the conflict in the Gulf was averted thanks to the intervention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Annan.
The General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted a series of resolutions since 1993, calling on the states to respect the Olympic Truce. These resolutions have been accepted by all the Member States, which is a rare occurrence at the United Nations and proves that the idea of the Olympic Truce is an objective for the entire global community."@en1
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