Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-154"
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"en.20031119.6.3-154"2
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"Mr President, I am very pleased about today’s debate within our Parliament on the latest summit between the European Union and Russia. This is, in a sense, a response to the declarations issued by Mr Berlusconi on Chechnya at the end of the summit, declarations that justified the Russian policy of military intervention in the region.
Such statements do not reflect the positions agreed by the Fifteen, and my group vigorously condemns these declarations. Europe has expressed its disagreement with this justification, but can that be considered enough? I do not think so. I deplore the very relative importance accorded by the Council and the Commission to the issue of Chechnya, as well as the lukewarm nature of the condemnations of the Kremlin during the summit.
Daily life in Chechnya is still an ordeal for the civilian population. Lack of security, disappearances and human rights violations for which the Russian military forces are responsible continue with complete impunity. Over and over again, Moscow uses the fight against terrorism as an argument for justifying everything. That is unacceptable, even if it is, of course, necessary strongly to condemn the attacks by groups of Chechen extremists.
In the opinion of the independent NGO observers, the would-be democratic election held on 5 October was a sham. My group questions the legitimacy of such a consultation, aimed solely at convincing the international community that the situation in the region has been normalised and that the people have been able to exercise their sovereignty. In fact, there is no such sovereignty. It is a matter of urgency that the EU should finally condemn Russia, clearly and in no uncertain terms, for its handling of the war in Chechnya. It will not be possible for the reconstruction of this wounded country to begin until after the Russian forces have withdrawn and full peace has been brought to the region.
Only genuine political negotiations may enable the way to be opened to a process of democratisation and reconstruction, in which Europe must play a major role by exercising much stronger pressure upon Russia. Why not in the framework of the partnership agreements? Another possibility might consist in supporting the UN’s provisional administration plan in Chechnya. Such an attitude should not be interpreted as going against Russia or the development of the partnership between the European Union and Russia but, instead, as placing ourselves at the service of a peace and security awaited by both peoples."@en1
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