Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-13-Speech-4-222"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080313.20.4-222"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I will link this discussion to the previous debate on Russia because I strongly believe that, if we believe in a core set of values, we cannot uphold them only in countries that are weak, and give countries that are strong an exemption.
I am proud that this Parliament debated the resolution on Russia, and we should all be proud of that. We should fear the day when the European Parliament stops debating these resolutions and stops standing firmly for the values that we believe in.
Because, today, democracy is not the right of everyone to be equal, it is the equal right of everyone to be different. This is a core message that we need to pass on to our partners in Russia, and we need to pass it to our partners in Afghanistan.
President Karzai and the Afghan Government have committed themselves to building a democratic, modern state. In a democratic and modern state, the death sentence is unacceptable. There is not debate about that. No form of death punishment is acceptable in a democratic and modern state. This is the core of our European value.
The case of the Afghan journalist Mr Kambakhsh is even more perplexing, because he has been sentenced to death because of exercising his right to free access to information.
We should encourage very strongly the authorities in Afghanistan, the Government and the President to intervene on his behalf and use their powers to spare his life and to make sure that he is pardoned at the end of the process which he needs to go through now, meaning the appeal process.
We should, however, also continue to help the authorities build the institutions that they need to function as a democratic and modern state, support civil society and, most important of all, continue our commitment to the security of Afghanistan.
Finally, we should never forget that education is the core value that we need to impress on a country like Afghanistan. Girls have been able to go to school only in the last few years. There is so much work for us to do there. We should not shy away from that work, and we should impress very strongly, both on the Commission and the Council and all the Member States, the fact that we should invest in education in Afghanistan."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples