Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-267"
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"en.20080312.20.3-267"2
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"Mr President, I should like to thank the President-in-Office, as well as the Commissioner, for their update with regard to the present situation in Chad, and like my colleagues, Mr Burke and Mr Morillon, I want to pay my tribute and extend my sympathy to the family of the French peacekeeper who died in action recently.
One of the horrors that we all have to face in discussing and looking at the situation in Chad, and indeed in that part of Africa in general, is the continuing instability, not just in Chad itself but also in Sudan and the Darfur region and in the Central African Republic, and in other aspects – and, in particular, the outside influences that occur across the different borders that are there. That is why it makes it so difficult to try to find common ground to get solutions. It is all very well to say that we are going to include civil society, but civil society is not given the opportunity to rise and show what it truly wants to see happening, because different rebel forces or opposition forces are there.
That is why the issue that we are now focusing on through the Eurofor mechanism is not only the stability and protection of the refugees from Sudan who have come into Chad – over a quarter of million, of whom nearly 10 000 came in the last month – and also refugees coming from the Central African Republic, but to try and ensure that democracy and the democratisation of the issue are brought to the forefront as well. That is why I congratulate Commissioner Michel on the work he has been undertaking with the – and I use the word guardedly – ‘legitimate’ Government in Chad and other areas to encourage them to operate properly. Unfortunately, I do not have the same confidence in the independence of the inquiry into the missing, which will take place under the Chadian authorities, but, hopefully, with European Union involvement, that might be encouraged.
My last point is that our troops are now being deployed, thanks to the help from Russia and other countries. Last week I spoke with Lieutenant General Pat Nash, the Operational Commander, who informed me that at the moment there are 700 troops there – 56 of whom are Irish – and the full complement will be there before the rainy season, hopefully by the start of May.
What is incumbent on us now in this Parliament is to give our support to that continuing peacekeeping force by our political actions, by our words but, most importantly of all, by ensuring that they have the proper resources to carry out their task as well."@en1
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