Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-12-Speech-4-224"
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"en.20070712.28.4-224"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the resolution and, like others, I am really concerned about the truly tragic situation that we see in Iraq and on its borders at the moment. This is a people that have already suffered war, ethnic cleansing, a brutal dictatorship, an illegal invasion and communal violence, and are now seeing borders closing both externally and internally, seeing little chance of resettlement, and seeing a very mixed reception should any of them make it to the European Union.
We should not be surprised when war produces refugees – it always does – and indeed, as has already been said, some of our Member States have a very grave responsibility for that situation. I would agree, for once, with Mr Tannock, certainly on the question of the lack of post-war planning.
I particularly welcome, in this resolution, the statement that there should be no forced return of Iraqi refugees, or of those who have had their claims turned down that are currently living in the European Union, and at present we certainly need to find a status for such people, rather than leaving them destitute in our own Member States, as is happening in some places.
I would say that there is no part of Iraq which is currently safe. Even in Kurdistan we see Turkish troops at the moment massing on the borders there, undermining the possibility of return to destroyed villages and undermining efforts to increase economic stability in that area. Indeed, some of those that have been returned were sent back wearing flak jackets and helmets, which, to me, says it is not exactly a safe area. We also had a report from Human Rights Watch only last week saying that, despite the efforts of authorities in Kurdistan, partisan security forces continue the practice of kidnap and torture, so there is no real safe area in Iraq.
We know that we have to increase our support to the countries dealing with refugees on the border, and to the UNHCR, because we know what happens when you ignore the plight of refugees at the border. We only have to look at our experience when we more or less turned our back on two million Afghan refugees on the Pakistani border and left them without adequate support – that vacuum is filled, and we do not always like the result.
I welcome the call, in the resolution, for the Commission to explain to Parliament’s Committee on Budgets in more detail exactly how we are helping in Iraq and how we are aiming to support those surrounding countries. But, equally, I think we should be looking at our own resettlement policies to at least offer assistance to some of those who, once again, are finding their lives absolutely in turmoil."@en1
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