Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-03-Speech-4-173"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2003-07-03"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Cambodia2
dcterms:Language	"de"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20030703.11.4-173"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2003-07-03-Speech-4-1742
lpv:speaker	lp:Hartmut Nassauer2
lpv:spokenAs	member; Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 chair; Delegation for relations with the Member States of ASEAN, south-east Asia and the Republic of Korea (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Conference of Delegation Chairs (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 member_of_the_bureau; EPP-ED (2002-03-08--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a new parliament is to be elected in Cambodia on 27 July, and some twenty political parties want to take part in this election. That is in itself an indication of some degree of progress towards democracy. At the end of the day, of course, what counts is the way in which these elections are conducted, as well as what happens before and after them, and whether the process is fair and deserves to be described as democratic. It is this that we have good reasons to doubt. Violence continues to overshadow the preparations for the election; opposition politicians are intimidated, two of them having been murdered in June alone. Everything demonstrates the total power wielded by the autocratic Communist Party, which evidently cannot reconcile itself to the idea that other parties have to exist. Rules on local elections are infringed, as a rule by the local authorities, and such breaches go unpunished. The quality of a democracy depends on freedom of access to the media, above all to the electronic media, something that is not guaranteed, not least because the latter continue to be under the control of the Cambodian People’s Party and the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, or of organisations and persons associated with it. The European Union is sending observers to monitor the Cambodian elections. To do so makes no sense unless they are able to do their work unhindered, and the country’s government must ensure that they are able to do so. By demanding all these things, we are not in some way illicitly interfering in the country’s internal affairs, but are acting on the basis of a cooperation agreement, Article 1 of which states in clear terms that respect for the principles of democracy and for basic human rights are among the elements of this agreement and that they must be adhered to by both parties. Since 1992, the European Union has been deeply involved in Cambodia. Having invested some EUR 250 million in the country, we can legitimately make certain demands as regards the fairness of elections. We therefore demand that the Cambodian Government should put an end to the violence and prevent the intimidation of opposition politicians and their parties. Our further demand of the Cambodian authorities is that they should ensure that these elections can be held freely and without interference."@en1
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"(Applause)"1

Named graphs describing this resource:

The resource appears as object in 2 triples

Context graph