Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-28-Speech-4-142"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20041028.11.4-142"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the reason why my group has not signed this motion is that it takes the view that this complex matter should be dealt with in a report from a sub-committee, for which provision exists, rather than in an urgent debate, which is not appropriate. We have in fact decided that our members will have a free vote, and I am very definitely among those who intend to support this resolution when it comes to be voted on.
I thought it interesting that Mr van den Berg should mention the name of Buttiglione. Mr Buttiglione and I were among those Christian Democrats who were forthrightly critical of the Iraq war, and of the use of cluster munitions in it, from the very outset, and so I find it regrettable that Mr Buttiglione’s presence in the Commission has been thought undesirable. He would be a very good ally to have on this issue.
The second point I want to make is that Mr Schmidt appealed to our Christian convictions. This he has said – and let me say this loud and clear – at the end of a week when we in this House have been told time and time again that policy must not be influenced by religious convictions. I disagree with that, and my Christian convictions lead me to believe that everything possible must indeed be done to deal not only with anti-personnel mines of every kind, but also with cluster munitions, which really do present an extreme danger to the civilian population, and particularly to children. Let us not, however, apply double standards. People’s Christian convictions can lead them to adopt quite divergent political positions, but they should in any case respect each other’s. I personally take the view – as I believe does the majority in my group – that we should implement this moratorium, which makes sense and is necessary, and I can only say that we should very definitely make an issue of the use of cluster munitions in Chechnya, as Russia is a member state of the Council of Europe, which sits here in Strasbourg. Although Chechnya, if one regards it – as many do, although I do not – as part of Russia, can therefore be said to be Council of Europe territory and thus subject to the Convention on Human Rights, cluster munitions are deployed directly against the civilian population. The same, though, is true of Iraq, just as it was true of the Balkans. As we cannot be narrow-minded about this, let me say that I very much support this resolution."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples