Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-07-Speech-4-158"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2006-09-07"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Sri Lanka2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20060907.23.4-158"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2006-09-07-Speech-4-1592
lpv:speaker	lp:Geoffrey Van Orden2
lpv:spoken text	". Mr President, Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, located at a key economic crossroads, with an enterprising and industrious people. What a terrible shame that the hopes and ambitions of a generation of Sri Lankans have been blighted by terrorism. Sri Lanka has made progress in recent years; how much more could have been achieved in terms of rapid economic and social development if there had been stability and security? I do not want to underestimate the strength of feeling among many Tamil citizens, in particular, that they were not getting a fair deal, but we can be certain that terrorism has not improved their opportunities one iota. The Tamil-speaking population is very mixed. Of a population of four million, one quarter or so are so-called hill Tamils, who have never been associated with the LTTE, while a further quarter are Muslims, who certainly find little attraction in the LTTE. Most of the Tamil peoples of Sri Lanka live in the centre and south of the island, outside areas that have been under LTTE control. Those living in those areas have little opportunity to express their true feelings about the terrorist masters who dominate their lives. I have no doubt that over the years there have been abuses of Tamils and that on occasion security forces have acted with insufficient regard for ordinary Tamil people in the areas of conflict. I therefore congratulate the Sri Lankan Government on the commitment it has made to investigate atrocities and serious human rights violations and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Of course, the greatest human rights violators are the terrorists. Successive Sri Lankan Governments have sought to improve the situation of the Tamils and have offered various devolutionary proposals that would give the Tamil population considerable autonomy, while preserving the unity of the country. Each of those proposals has been rejected by that same intransigent leadership at the LTTE. In our resolution today, we are calling upon all parties to the conflict and troubles in Sri Lanka to pull back from the brink. We are calling for an immediate, comprehensive and verifiable end to hostilities, respect for human rights, unhindered access throughout the country for humanitarian workers, and for the Government and opposition in Sri Lanka to come forward with a bold gesture of reconciliation, including constitutional revision, as a matter of urgency. Meanwhile, the Council, Commission and Member States must redouble their efforts to help bring a stable and just peace to Sri Lanka and restore security and prosperity, and that includes bearing down hard on the agents of terrorism."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member; Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3 vice-chair; AFET (2004-07-22--2007-01-14)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe (2004-09-28--2007-03-13)3 member; EPP-ED (2005-03-09--2009-07-13)3 member; SEDE (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 member; Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3 substitute; TRAN (2004-07-22--2007-01-14)3 unknown; Conservative and Unionist Party (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Geoffrey Van Orden (PPE-DE ),"1 "author"1

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