Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-14-Speech-2-018"
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"en.20040914.2.2-018"2
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"Mr President, I too would like to join my colleagues in congratulating you on your election and in thanking you for your address earlier this morning.
Rather than lay out a wish list of every new policy or new idea, I want to touch very briefly on some of the points you raised and try to re-emphasise those within our role and work here in Parliament.
First and most importantly of all, you mentioned the massacre at Beslan and in particular the slaughter of innocents that took place. It is incumbent on us, because of the institution that we are part of, because of the moral authority which we have in this Parliament as the democratically–elected voice of the people, we should stand up and resist all violence against people. We should be a beacon of hope and tranquillity for those who wish to have their viewpoint heard.
You mentioned in your speech that you do not see the issue as a clash of civilisations. Some years ago, the Chief Rabbi in Britain, Jonathan Sachs, wrote a book called
. If there is one thing that the European Parliament and the European Union have achieved, it is that ideal of respecting the dignity of difference. There are things that make us different, but they need not divide us if we can show tolerance, respect and understanding for them. Over the next five years of the mandate of this Parliament, we should be striving to ensure that, in every aspect of our working life, we can give that respect and tolerance to differing viewpoints. We may not agree with them and may not ascribe to them ourselves, but we should respect the right of Members of this House and other elected representatives to hold those opinions and try to bring them forward. We will be faced with this even more now because of our recent enlargement and the reunification of Europe. There are now people in this Parliament who know what it is like not to have freedom to speak, not to have the freedom to use their own language and not to have the right to teach their own history and culture to their children. They want to make sure that those rights are never taken away again. Some in this Parliament and other places may use Members' passion for and belief in protecting the cultures and diversity of languages within the European Union as a way of attacking such Members. We should understand the reasoning behind this approach.
Mr President, you rightly say that the question of language should be dealt with by the Council with regard to what is and is not appropriate. We should also have a bit of leeway within Parliament: for opening remarks in a Member's maiden speech or for other important occasions during the Presidency, people should be allowed to use their own language, even though it may not be an official working language, on condition that they give a translation to the services before they make their speech.
My last point is that this House must be seen around Europe as a House to be treated with respect and honour, because we have a mandate and we bring the voice of the people as close as possible to the heart of what the European Union is. There must also be respect for the Members of this House in their work and for the style in which they work. If we are not willing to give respect to ourselves within this Chamber, if we are not willing to work within the rules and the laws as set down by our own Rules of Procedure, invoking our rights and powers under the various treaties and under the new constitution – if it is adopted – then no one outside this House will have respect for us. I am looking to you, in the light of our previous conversations and the work you have already done in this regard since taking office, to give leadership in ensuring that the respect and dignity of this House is protected at all times. The rights of individual Members are foremost within that protection.
To conclude, here is a short quote, which could best be described as an ancient Irish poem. I will not use the original Gaelic: 'Who shall speak for the lonely and the oppressed? If not you, then who? Who shall speak for the downtrodden and the unjust? If not you, then who? Who shall speak for you? If not you, then who?' We are given the authority to speak on behalf of those who do not have a voice and to give leadership to those who should be shown what the true way is."@en1
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