Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-06-Speech-4-052"
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"en.20100506.4.4-052"2
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"Mr President, we learnt with great sadness that former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died last night. He made a great contribution to the political and democratic life of Nigeria and through his policies contributed to the stability in particular of the subregion of West Africa.
Finally, I believe it is essential that we remain attentive to the issue of recurring intercommunal violence in Nigeria. I propose that it should be addressed as a priority for dialogue in the next EU-Nigeria ministerial meeting in the autumn of this year.
According to the Constitution, acting President Jonathan automatically becomes the substantive President. We understand that he will be sworn in shortly, possibly by tonight, by Nigeria’s Chief of Justice. He in turn will be expected to swear in a Vice-President from the north of the country, which opens new speculations on the political scene in Nigeria.
The European Union has been a committed partner of Nigeria and has continued to give strong and constructive support during the recent difficult months of political uncertainty. The violent conflicts in Jos and surrounding villages in January and March this year, during which hundreds of citizens are reported to have been massacred or seriously injured, have been particularly devastating. Thousands have been left homeless and are currently in camps.
I fully share the concerns expressed by honourable Members on the mass atrocities in Jos and I would like to assure you that they triggered a resolute EU response.
As soon as news emerged about the events in January and March, the Commission was in contact with the International Red Cross in Nigeria and other local agencies, which confirmed that the humanitarian needs of most victims were being met and that hospitals were able to cope with the inflow of causalities. The EU was amongst the first of Nigeria’s international partners to make public its views on the violence.
In January, High Representative/Vice-President Catherine Ashton issued a joint statement with Hillary Clinton, David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner expressing deep regret at the violence and tragic loss of lives. All parties were urged to exercise restraint and seek peaceful means to resolve differences, and called on the Federal Government to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice. The EU issued further declarations on Nigeria in February and March; they conducted a diplomatic démarche with the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to convey condemnation of the most recent outbreaks of violence.
The EU requested that the Federal Government of Nigeria conduct a full investigation of the causes of the most recent violence and bring the perpetrators of violence to justice. In the last 10 years violent conflicts have caused the death of over 14 000 people in Nigeria and left over three million internally displaced people.
It is not possible to put Muslim or Christian communities in the role of either aggressor or victim, since historically they have, unfortunately, been both. It is apparent, however, that the conflict always involves extremely poor people. Conflicts presented as religiously motivated are often triggered by other causes, including conflicts between traditional rulers, land and resource struggles among communities, political in-fighting, and tensions between state and federal authorities. Religious differences often fuel and amplify existing differences, leading to larger clashes.
Measures being undertaken by the EU in Nigeria combine diplomacy with longer-term development cooperation. Under the EDF we support development cooperation in Nigeria. The two most important sectors are peace and security, and governance and human rights. We also actively promote peace and security through regular political dialogue with Nigeria under the Cotonou agreement and we engage in regular dialogue with Nigeria on human rights and democratic principles including ethnic, religious and racial discrimination."@en1
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