Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-16-Speech-4-199"
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"en.20061116.25.4-199"2
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".
Mr President, you may well be surprised to learn that I agree with much of what Mr Strož had to say in this speech, but such is indeed the case, for I do believe that we have to paint a very nuanced picture of Iran, and that is why we have drafted a very wide-ranging and exhaustive resolution, as evidence, on the one hand, of how very concerned we are about the situation there, and also of how seriously we take that country and how important we believe it to be.
It is one of the oldest cultures in the world, and has been a world power for millennia; we must endeavour, by means of astute policies and diplomacy, to re-integrate it, step by step, into the international community, among those countries that co-exist as neighbours. If that is to happen, though, there must of course be some fundamental changes in Iran.
The issue of minorities has also been brought up, and it is, in Iran – which is actually a multi-ethnic state, and so one cannot actually speak in terms of minorities – the various nations and ethnic groups have done a good job of living together since ancient times. It also showed greater religious tolerance than did many other states in the region, but the position today is such that the state’s official Islamic ideology makes life very difficult for minorities such as the Azeri or adherents of other religions, not least for other strands of Islam such as the Sufis.
On the other hand, though, there is certainly evidence coming out of Iran indicating that more and more self-confident women are going into politics, that a new generation is going down completely new paths and that this implies a great deal of hope for the future.
We must therefore consider this multi-faceted structure as it is and without isolating it. We have to seek out contacts with the various communities and ethnic groups, and with every generation of this people, while at the same time making it clear that we do not accept under any circumstances rule by the police, the suppression of opinions, or the persecution of people by reason of their religious or other convictions, and that we repudiate all the more so the anti-Israel utterances of President Ahmadinejad, under whose leadership – it has to be said with some regret – conditions in this great country have taken a turn for the worse.
Taking energetic action to address that state of affairs is our duty as Europeans; if we are to do that, we need to cooperate with the United States of America, and I hope that one consequence of the latest political developments will be that cooperation with them on this issue will improve."@en1
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