Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-07-05-Speech-4-179"
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"en.20010705.8.4-179"2
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"Firstly, on Vietnam, may I say that I share the concerns of honourable Members about the human rights situation and, in particular, about recent developments in that country. These appear to suggest that the progress which has been achieved by the Vietnamese government, both politically and economically, since the 1992 Constitution was adopted may be slowing down or even going into reverse, particularly where political freedoms are concerned.
While it is true that last year saw no new projects or programmes in the health sector, the public health sector support programme 2000, which was agreed in 1999, became operational during the course of the last year. Programmes under consideration for funding in 2001 include a major health programme on primary health care, and that will also cover HIV/AIDS in selected provinces.
Preparations for the programming of the next multiannual indicative programme are about to start and they will take place in the course of the next year. In this programming phase the Commission will give very proper consideration to the concerns and interests expressed by the European Parliament.
I now turn to Belarus. I want to say how important it is for Parliament to discuss this subject and I very much take the point raised by a number of honourable Members about the importance of raising our concerns on Belarus with the Russian Federation. That is something we have done, are doing and will continue to do. I welcome this timely debate. I congratulate honourable Members on highlighting the extremely worrying situation in Belarus. The Commission shares the deep concerns contained in the resolutions that are before us today. I join Parliament in calling on President Lukashenka to reverse the present alarming trend towards increased authoritarianism by decisive action to improve human rights, press freedom and democracy.
In the short term this means, in particular, ensuring free and fair elections and addressing the situation of missing opposition figures and political prisoners. Improved cooperation with the OSCE will be a vital ingredient in this.
The presidential elections on 9 September will be the next test of the democratic credentials of the country and we are in close touch with the OSCE-ODIHR discussions over the desirability of an international election monitoring mission. There are some – I emphasise ‘some’ – encouraging signs of greater unity among opposition parties. However, all the indications are that the authorities will again fail the democratic test, just as the parliamentary elections last October fell disappointingly short of the conditions established by the OSCE.
The European Union has a clear position: as long as the present intolerable situation remains we cannot consider closer economic or political relations with Belarus. Unless and until there are significant improvements, our financial assistance will remain limited to direct help to those involved in promoting civil society and democracy, and humanitarian assistance where it is needed.
The European Union has condemned the recent government decree on external funding for non-governmental organisations, and we are urgently seeking clarification on how it might affect our own assistance programmes. Speaking personally, I would prefer to see our present limited assistance suspended, rather than have it subject to prior approval by the authorities.
Our restrictive policy on political dialogue has not prevented the European Union from repeatedly airing our deep concerns about prominent public figures who mysteriously disappear or who are imprisoned for political reasons. Recently the European Union has raised the cases of the former interior minister Yury Zakharenko, the former head of the election committee, Viktor Gonchav, the businessman Anatoly Krasovsky and the photographer who was referred to in the debate, Dmitry Zavadsky.
It is disturbing that despite this pressure there has been no progress in these cases. The debate today has highlighted a further case: the imprisonment of Professor Bandashevsky, following his work on the alarming social and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. European Union heads of mission in Belarus have recently undertaken a study into the impact of Chernobyl on public health. The Commission is keen to discuss with Member States how the European Union should respond to these disturbing findings and on how we should react to Professor Bandashevsky's imprisonment, taking account of the strong views that are felt by honourable Members.
I have no hesitation at all in defending a fair, but tough, line on Belarus, but it is a pity that it is necessary. Belarus is a country at the heart of Europe that has the potential to become an important political and economic partner for the Union, particularly following enlargement. This is the positive message that we must continue to send to the people of Belarus. In this way we can lend our support to those forces in society that are pressing for the reforms that are so necessary, the reforms that will one day assuredly arrive.
The European Union's policy toward Vietnam, as it is towards all countries, is to encourage and support continued progress on human rights and democratisation and to raise concerns both publicly and in private where abuses or a deterioration in the situation is observed. In Vietnam, permitting freedom of opinion and freedom of religion are of paramount importance to the European Union. The Constitution of Vietnam guarantees freedom of belief and religion, and in recent years the state has developed more cooperative arrangements with the Catholic Church. However, the Constitution also specifies that it is forbidden to violate freedom of belief or religion or to take advantage of it to act against the laws or the policies of the state. This provision obviously reflects the desire of the Vietnamese authorities to try to control the pace of change and to maintain their grip on society during the transition process. It is also plainly a restriction on freedom of opinion, and the press law is similarly restricted. The cases mentioned in today's debate seem to me to be more concerned with freedom of opinion than with freedom of religion, a freedom which of course the European Union holds to be equally important. Father Ly has called publicly for the United States not to ratify its bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam, linking this action to human rights issues.
Finally, I refer to the important speech made by Mr Khanbhai, who raised a number of very important issues, triggered by the position of Burundian refugees in Tanzania. The Commission is concerned about the lack of progress towards peace in Burundi. How could we not be? We are concerned about the continuation of violence against the civil population resulting from persistent clashes between the Burundian army and the rebels. In the current circumstances a voluntary return of Burundian refugees in Tanzanian camps is not, frankly, likely and a forced repatriation is hardly advisable.
The continued and growing presence of a huge Burundian refugee population in Tanzania is causing tension between the two governments. By the end of May there were approximately 523 000 refugees in camps in Western Tanzania, of whom over 383 000 were Burundians.
In particular, the Tanzanian government is accused of not preventing Burundian rebels from using refugee camps as bases for their attacks. In reaction to recent allegations by the Burundi government to this effect, Tanzania's President Mkapa suggested an immediate forced repatriation of all refugees, without taking into account the prevailing security situation in Burundi.
The government of Tanzania has since reassured the UNHCR that its policy towards the Burundian refugees is not in question, and it undertook to respect its earlier commitment to facilitate a gradual voluntary repatriation once the security conditions in Burundi permit.
For our part, the European Commission will contribute EUR 25 million towards the implementation of the UNHCR plan for voluntary repatriation of Burundian refugees to be launched once the situation is favourable. For now, the Commission is taking the necessary measures to assist the government of Tanzania to cope with the refugee population. Through the humanitarian aid office, ECHO, the Commission is funding more than a third of the total humanitarian aid available to refugees in Tanzania. Last year ECHO's budget for aid to Tanzanian refugees was nearly EUR 27 million. This was increased to over EUR 32 million this year.
Mr Khanbhai also raised a number of important issues about the management of our assistance and development programmes and about our representation in Africa and in other parts of the world. I look forward to future opportunities to discuss those matters with him and the whole House, not least in the context of the communication which we have just produced on our external services.
Similar calls have reportedly been made by members of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. These calls are clearly contrary to the government's policy and difficult for them to tolerate in a society unaccustomed to public dissent. What is needed in Vietnam is continued progress in the country's reform programme so that the administration learns to deal with a wider range of views and to appreciate the value of accommodating dissent in the system of government. We will continue to support progress and to take every opportunity to draw attention to the fundamental importance of freedom of opinion.
The first article of the EC-Vietnam Cooperation Agreement which we signed with the government of Vietnam in 1995 states that respect for human rights and democratic principles is the basis for our cooperation. We will shortly be holding in Hanoi a meeting of the EC-Vietnam Joint Commission at which all aspects of our relations will be reviewed including our shared commitment to respect for human rights.
In the meantime, the Commission delegation participates with the Member States represented in Hanoi in all EU démarches to the government of Vietnam on human rights issues, as well as in the regular discussions on human rights which the EU missions pursue with the Vietnamese authorities. I can assure Parliament that in this process, we will continue to raise particular issues of concern and individual cases, and will continue to encourage action to address human rights abuses in Vietnam. I will make those points when I am in Vietnam myself later this month. I would have referred specifically to a point raised by Mr Dupuis, but since he is not here, I will pass on.
The second subject that I would like to deal with is South Africa. The Commission shares the European Parliament's view that South Africa/EU cooperation should seek to redress the existing inequalities inherited from the apartheid era and to work to improve the living conditions of the population with programmes targeting employment, health, education and housing. That is what our European programme for reconstruction and development is about.
We strongly share the European Parliament's concern that there is an urgent need to combat the HIV/AIDS problem in South Africa and I am sure – as I said this morning during the debate on the forthcoming G8 Summit – that will be one of the subjects which is discussed then in Genoa.
The Commission also agrees that there is a need for a climate of greater security in South Africa as a prerequisite for a peaceful society and for economic development. We fear that the crime situation is not only a threat to the inhabitants of the country and to its social fabric, but also threatens South Africa's reputation abroad, discourages foreign investment and has a detrimental effect on the economy as a whole.
As the House knows, the priority areas under our current multiannual indicative programme for the years 2000-2002 are poverty alleviation through the provision of basic social services, private sector support and the consolidation of the rule of law and promotion of human rights. The Commission has funded two programmes to support the South African police force. The most recent one is currently being implemented."@en1
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