Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-25-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20061025.3.3-014"2
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"Mr President, the European Union has been referred to as the greatest example of conflict resolution in history. We must be concerned with the remaining conflicts at home, just as we are concerned with conflicts beyond our Union.
It is not for us in the European Parliament to intervene directly between the Spanish Government, political parties and the long-running conflict in the Basque country, but nor can we turn a blind eye. We should encourage what may be the best prospect for peace in a generation.
I extend my solidarity and sympathy to all those families who have been bereaved of loved ones over the years as a result of the violence. But surely the most appropriate response that we, as democratic politicians, can bring to those countless victims is to ensure that there will be no more victims. It is for that reason that Liberals and Democrats lend their backing to the resolution before the House today. It is neither a time nor a subject for political point-scoring. It is my firm belief that all democratic forces who wish to see a peaceful end to violence and terror in the Basque country and elsewhere in Spain where atrocities have been committed should back the endeavours of whichever Spanish government is prepared to work to that end.
Earlier this year, this House welcomed the announcement of an ETA ceasefire. It is right that we now build on that and engage a process that entrenches it, without prejudging or commenting on the outcome of any political dialogue or settlement.
As with the Northern Ireland peace process, which is not identical but offers some important lessons for conflict resolution, it is occasionally necessary for politicians to take a risk for peace. I recall that our former colleague John Hume and his Unionist counterpart David Trimble were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998, following the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. They took a risk for peace. This is not to hand a victory to the terrorists, as some would suggest, but rather to hand them a defeat. For there can be no dialogue among democrats if one of the parties still maintains the intent to kill.
We should not imagine that building the house of peace will be easy. There will be setbacks, such as the discovery of a cache of weapons in south-west France. But it is our duty to build the house of peace with the bricks of effort and the mortar of persistence.
That is why my group appeals to all sides of this House today to set aside party politics and unite for the prospects of peace, as much as we stand together in revulsion at acts of terrorism."@en1
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