Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-14-Speech-3-080"
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"en.20051214.10.3-080"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome, on behalf of all of you, on behalf of all of us, the two winners of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize 2005 and the representative of the third winner.
What all of this year’s winners have in common is their fight for human dignity and freedom. They are worthy successors of the Soviet academic whose name is on the prize that the European Parliament awards.
In their different ways, all three symbolise the fight to consolidate human rights in the world.
The fight against regimes that imprison critics who dare criticise them.
The fight against inhuman laws.
The fight against those who deny the right to information and against the terrorists who want to banish the right to information.
The European Parliament has supported this year’s winners by means of its resolutions and its initiatives. They are well known to us.
We have followed their work, we have followed their fight.
Their presence here is just the end of a process that we have shared by means of our resolutions.
It is a fight for a more democratic and more just world.
Please allow me to point out, here in this esteemed Chamber, that many Europeans believe that the right to have one’s human rights respected is something natural, something inevitable, which is practically free, and that it has always been the case.
Unfortunately, despite all of the efforts made right up to the last minute, the ‘Women in White’ have not been given permission to leave Cuba to be with us today.
No, it has not always been the case, and nor is it yet the case in many parts of the world, unfortunately.
For the great majority of humanity it is still a distant dream. And for this reason, we Europeans have a special duty to defend and promote human rights in the world.
I would like to speak briefly about each of our prize-winners: the ‘Women in White’ are represented by Mrs Blanca Reyes, who has been a ‘Woman in White’ until she fortunately ceased to be one when her husband was set free, whom I had the pleasure to receive on your behalf in this Parliament immediately after he was released from prison.
These women demonstrate peacefully every week in Havana to express their solidarity with relatives and friends in prison since March 2003. To a certain extent they are also continuing the phenomenon that was known at the time as the ‘Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo’, to whom we also awarded a prize.
The only crime of many of these prisoners is to express publicly their opposition to the government as ordinary citizens, as independent journalists or as peaceful dissidents. Many of them have become seriously ill during their imprisonment in conditions which Mrs Reyes will no doubt describe to us.
We called for the release of these prisoners in April 2004 and unfortunately this is still far from being achieved, despite certain individual cases that have arisen.
The experience of many European countries shows us that it is not possible to establish the conditions for a transition to democracy, a peaceful transition to democracy, by imprisoning dissidents, quite the opposite.
Let us hope that the transition to democracy in Cuba takes good note of the experience of certain European countries.
Mrs Hauwa Ibrahim:
You have used your talents as a lawyer to promote the rule of law. Your strength, as you said to me when I received you this morning, lies in respect for the law. We admire your determination.
I believe that I can say on behalf of the entire European Parliament that we regret and reject this attitude on the part of the Cuban authorities.
In this enormous country of Nigeria, you defend people who live with the threat of cruel and inhuman punishments. Punishments which are applied in accordance with Sharia law in twelve States of your country.
You fight for these people’s right to a fair trial, in accordance with the law.
Please believe me that we felt moved and indignant while watching the proceedings against Amina Lawal and Safya Hussaini, accused of adultery. You made sure that the law prevailed, demanding respect for the Constitution and for the international Treaties signed by Nigeria.
It is inconceivable that a woman accused of adultery can still be stoned.
It is inconceivable that a woman accused of adultery can be stoned as in biblical times; we cannot condone the amputation of young criminals. This Parliament has spoken out vigorously against these inhuman punishments and against the death penalty on many occasions.
Mrs Ibrahim, we stand shoulder to shoulder with you in rejecting this cruelty and our rejection will be total.
We admire your personal commitment. The personal commitment that you express with great conviction: that of the right to education for the poor, in particular women, because poverty harms women especially. You are an example for all Nigerians who want to leave behind poverty and ignorance.
We are also receiving Robert Ménard today, who is well known to this House, Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders, and, through him, all journalists.
These professional people breathe life into freedom of information and open our eyes to a cruel world. There can be no democracy without pluralist information. Information is the raw material, the principal fuel, of the system of democracy. Without it there can be no democracy.
We pay homage to those who fight every day, in every part of the world, to make this principle a reality.
To those who all too frequently fall victim as a result of their passionate pursuit of their duties.
Unfortunately, they all too often fall victim as a result of their passionate pursuit of their duties.
A few weeks ago, Robert Ménard was denied permission to attend the Information Summit taking place in Tunisia. The Tunisian authorities were undoubtedly afraid of what he would say.
It is a great paradox that this should happen precisely when we are talking about the right to access to free information for everybody.
I would like to remind you that in 2005, which is drawing to a close, 58 journalists have lost their lives, one every week of the year, every seven days a journalist dies while carrying out their duty. In 2004 that figure was 53. Unfortunately, it is increasing. I would like to pay tribute to all of them, and to all of their imprisoned or disappeared colleagues.
This Parliament has acted and will always act in support of them.
Because dictatorships do not last forever. Some last a long time, too long, but they do not last forever.
Through their brutal actions, the terrorists will not deny us freedom of information either, the essential basis of our democratic life.
On this formal occasion I would like to talk about the ‘Women in White’ and our reasons for awarding them this prize.
Finally, and before giving the floor to our winners and their representatives I would like to combine the thoughts of Voltaire and Brecht. Two intellectuals separated by many years. One of them opened up the light and the other suffered in the shadows. Both Voltaire and Brecht used a similar expression, and I am not very sure to which of them it should be most attributed. They said it during different eras, in different places and in different circumstances.
I would insist, one of them was opening up the light and the other was enduring the shadows. Both said that freedom of expression is the only right that separates freedom from tyranny. And not to accept this is to condemn the human being to ignominy.
Congratulations to our prize winners on the courage they have shown.
Voltaire and Brecht are watching us.
Thank you very much.
Mrs Blanca Reyes, you have the floor.
This is unfortunately not the first time that this has happened. Neither Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Leyla Zana, nor Wei Jingshen were able to come here to receive their prize. Their representatives came instead of them.
When they we able to – some have not yet been able because they are still being detained – they came to the House and we met especially to hear them. This happened in the case of Nelson Mandela and more recently Leyla Zana.
We shall therefore continue to apply every possible pressure on the Cuban authorities to allow them to come, and when they do we shall organise a formal sitting so that they can address our House, as we have on previous occasions, and we will do everything we can to ensure that this happens as soon as possible."@en1
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