Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-06-Speech-3-548-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110406.33.3-548-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, we are talking today about three very different countries with very specific local conditions. In Yemen, the uprising has reached mass proportions, despite brutal violence on the part of the police and the army. In Bahrain, there is a serious risk that the whole region might become destabilised because of the involvement of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Finally, in Syria, the opposition has virtually no room for manoeuvre and the regime seems prepared to go to any lengths to put down the protests.
On the basis of those specific circumstances, I believe that the EU should conduct bilateral relations with these countries. There are a couple of principles which need to be upheld. Obviously, every citizen has a right to demonstrate and to freely express his or her opinion. However, what should we do about peaceful protests, where those very citizens simultaneously become victims of repression, because of police and army intervention? Are we going to investigate this internationally? What is the EU doing to promote that investigation?
Secondly, there is an obligation on governments to engage in dialogue with the opposition and with civil society organisations, because violence and oppression are never the solution. What is the EU doing specifically to foster this dialogue? And if, after that, the regimes in Syria and Bahrain, and also in Yemen, are still unable or unwilling to listen to their people, what will be the consequences of that in terms of our relations with those countries?
Mr President, we need to offer concrete help, as has been said many times, but that concrete help must also have real substance. How are we going to achieve that? I would have liked to have heard a plan today of how we are going to go about this.
I would just like to address a comment to the Commissioner. I think that, in the specific case of Syria, and Turkey too, we should call for pressure to be applied, amongst other means, as part of the plans which are apparently going to be put together over the coming days.
One final comment. I think that our delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries could do some excellent work here and that we should do everything to enable them to do so."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples