Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-14-Speech-3-202"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000614.8.3-202"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I too should also like to express my great concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in Tunisia, a concern that is actively shared by all friends of that country.
For several years now, those who have promoted human rights have suffered, together with their families, continual harassment by the Tunisian authorities and some of them have been given prison terms. They are regularly followed by members of the state security services; their passports, and those of their families, are confiscated; their telephone lines are cut off or tapped; they are subjected to defamation campaigns or to verbal and physical threats; and finally, their relatives are regularly interrogated.
Given this kind of abuse, the European Parliament today reiterates its conviction that there should be no exception to the respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms. This rule cannot be flouted without damage being done, because Tunisia is the first European partner to have concluded, in 1995, as a matter of fact, an association agreement with the European Union. This agreement contains a clause which calls for human rights to be respected, with suspensive effect and provides for political dialogue.
I certainly prefer political dialogue to unilateral sanctions, but, for this very reason, it is our duty to tell our partners that we are extremely concerned about the situation in Tunisia. It is our duty to ask the Tunisian authorities to undertake all possible initiatives to establish a genuine multiparty political scene, and to guarantee the freedom of the press and freedom of association.
But what form will this dialogue take, Mr Patten? What practical and specific steps can we take? How can we make the positions that we adopt here effective? We can start by asking how things are going to develop in Tunisia. The Ben Brik affair alone has come to symbolise the exasperation of many Tunisians in the face of the depletion of their freedoms, with the press being only one of the many areas lying in ruins. There has been a Ben Brik effect, which goes beyond his individual case and in three months, we have seen a whole civil society, which has demonstrated its determination to end the police state, suddenly gain a new dignity. Over these three months, President Ben Ali has continued to wield the carrot and the stick at those who question his methods or who criticise the state of freedoms in his country.
Given this attitude, we are entitled to wonder if, tomorrow, Tunisia might not become a new hotbed of tension on Europe’s southern border. Tunisia’s rulers have two solutions today. The first is to continue to refuse to accept the reality of the situation in line with the principle – quite common in this type of regime – of insisting that everything is fine until the final moment, with civil society having to suffer a new wave of repression and to face up to it with courage and determination. It would then be the international Community’s task to isolate a power that would be an outlaw and to support the fight of the Tunisian people to regain their sovereignty.
The Tunisian government can also, however, choose the path of dialogue with civil society, in order to decrease tensions and to negotiate a way of pulling Tunisia out of this impasse and to lead it towards democracy. I think that it is important, as Mr Abitbol said, that we choose our words carefully. In any event, we must implement every measure that we can to ensure that that is the path they choose to follow."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples