Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-05-Speech-4-206"
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".
As regards the first item, which is the abduction of Mr Tsiakourmas, the Commission is familiar with the circumstances surrounding the arrest of this Greek Cypriot citizen last December. It has emerged that Mr Tsiakourmas was abducted on the sovereign territory of a British base in Dhekalia. The British Government raised the issue on a number of occasions both with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community and with the authorities in Ankara. The General Affairs Council is going to look into this case when it meets next Monday.
For our part, we in the Commission are still keeping a watchful eye on developments in the situation from our delegation office in Nicosia. According to our information, the proceedings which were opened against Mr Tsiakourmas resumed this week in Famagusta and a verdict is expected shortly.
Like Mr Katiforis, I think that this case, like many others, must be seen in the context of the political situation in Cyprus. We are taking every opportunity to contact the parties involved in order, as you know, to try to promote a political solution to the partitioning of the island. As regards the Turkish side, which Mr MacCormick and Mr Alyssandrakis mentioned, you can rest assured that this topic is amongst those we will be dealing with within the framework of the political dialogue between the European Union and Turkey, which was strengthened by the European Council in Helsinki.
Coming to the second item under the heading of human rights, which is your motion for a resolution on violence against nuns, we feel that the case of the Catholic nuns constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental rights of women and is a dreadful example of violence against them. As those who have taken the floor know, the European Union is firmly committed to combating violence against women. In all the institutions we are firmly committed to upholding the principles contained in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and, in particular, to working to ensure that the commitments entered into in Beijing not very long ago during the fourth women’s conference are respected.
As far as human rights in Pakistan are concerned, the Commission shares the view of the honourable Members who tabled resolutions on this subject when they state that the recent arrests of so-called political activists belonging to the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy are a major concern. During talks with the Pakistani Government last November, the EU troika called on the administration to lift restrictions on the activities of political parties, in particular, the ban on public demonstrations. Political parties cannot and must not be excluded from political life in Pakistan any more than elsewhere, since it is clear they are called upon to play an important role in the country’s future.
We are expecting to see tangible progress in the restoration of representative democracy at all levels, beginning with the holding of elections in provincial and national assemblies on the basis of a clear and credible timetable. The Pakistani authorities have given a firm commitment to the EU troika that it will respect the timeframe, which was established by the Supreme Court, of three years following the military coup until the organisation of these elections. Although the Government has confirmed that the political parties will be authorised to take part in provincial and national elections, as a number of you have said, it is clear that only the rapid lifting of the ban on public demonstrations will boost confidence in the process to restore democracy in Pakistan.
As far as the last item is concerned, which is the situation of homosexuals in Namibia, like the authors of this resolution, we were amazed and concerned to read the recent statement on homosexuality which was given by the Namibian President, Sam Nujoma, calling for the persecution of people identified as homosexuals.
We have always upheld the position that all individuals are entitled to benefit from human rights and fundamental freedoms. We believe that all nations must protect and promote these rights and actively contribute to abolishing any form of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, political opinion, religious beliefs and so on.
Our position also reflects the position which was publicly adopted by the Government of the Republic of Namibia, evidence of which can be found in its constitution and in all the international conventions on human rights which this country has ratified. As a result, we are in favour of any overtures made to the Namibian authorities to try to clarify this matter and to express the wish that these recent statements do not constitute a repudiation of Namibia’s existing constitutional provisions, which ban such discrimination."@en1
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