Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-03-Speech-3-134"
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"en.20030903.6.3-134"2
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"Mr President, I can well appreciate that there are many people who have no desire to look back. Nor, in a way, do I myself think it is much fun looking back. We have here one of those situations in which it has to be said that, as time goes on, it becomes less and less pleasant to have been right. When representatives of my group, the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, the Group of the Party of European Socialists and the Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities visited Baghdad in February of this year, we talked with the weapons inspectors, and it was our extremely clear impression that the inspection was working and that, if no weapons of mass destruction had then been found, it was first and foremost because they probably did not exist. Six months on, it may also be seen that this view was probably correct and that the weapons inspection was, therefore, working as intended, with the UN on the right lines in this matter.
The second thing we discussed at that time was how such an attack would be taken in Iraq. Would it be seen as a liberation or as an occupation? Our message was: probably as both. Naturally, there is a desire to be free from a despot and dictator like Saddam Hussein. Is there, however, a wish to see one’s country occupied by foreign troops in the process? I think it can probably now be stated that our fears at that time were justified and that the attacks that are now being made upon, for example, civilian targets, the UN building and the Iraqi police are a sign that the Iraqi people are experiencing the current situation as an occupation.
Another thing we wanted to be considered before an attack was made was the internal tensions that would be triggered in Iraq. Recently, we saw the killing of the Shia Muslim leader, Mohammed Baquer Hakim. Not that I think he was a hero. Far from it. This is, however, an example of how strong the tensions between the population groups in Iraq are, and it shows the enormity of the task involved in the headlong plunge into an attack on Iraq. The demonstrations at his funeral were a mixture of protests against both Saddam Hussein and George Bush, meaning that, even among people who must have felt they were perhaps free of a dictator, there were very strong reactions against the American occupation.
Another thing we feared was that, with this attack, the UN would be fundamentally weakened. That, it also has to be said, has unfortunately happened. With a weakened UN, it can also be seen how much we in actual fact need the UN. The United States must now recognise that even 180 000 soldiers are not enough to restore peace and order in Iraq. More is required. The UN must become involved. We therefore now see it as a very important task to rebuild and strengthen the UN. That is one of the reasons why my group proposes that we give this year’s Sakharov Prize to Hans Blix, Doctor El Baradei and Mr de Mello. The idea is for Parliament to send a signal that what we wish to strengthen is international law. We wish to strengthen the UN system, and we believe that this is the prerequisite for success in that rebuilding of Iraq that we all wish to see."@en1
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