Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-19-Speech-4-247"
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"en.20060119.31.4-247"2
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".
Mr President, Cambodian culture was once known worldwide as a symbol of peace, yet, since then, scarcely any other country has had as much to endure as Cambodia, which was occupied by foreigners during the Second World War, the later Vietnam War and twice over in the war over Indo-China; it then suffered the terrors of the Khmer Rouge, with their policy of exterminating millions of people in ways that defy comparison, followed by another variety of Communism – the Vietnamese one this time – which, too, involved rule by foreigners. After the country had endured all these horrors, the setting in motion of a peace process there has called for a great deal of political effort on the part of the United Nations, the European Union and, not least, the people who live there; it has been a complicated business and has called for a great deal of dedication and a lot of money.
It can be said that what was accomplished then is, today, in ruins, for we see that another unjust regime is establishing itself in Cambodia, and, as that is something that we cannot accept under any circumstances, I would refer the House to paragraph 5 of our resolution, which states quite clearly that the agreement that we concluded with Cambodia is founded upon democracy and human rights. That is not an empty diplomatic phrase with which we politely introduce agreeable transactions; on the contrary, it spells out the terms on which business is done at all. The Council, the Commission, and this House, now have the task of making it plain to our Cambodian partners that if they keep on violating those terms, they will no longer be able to do business with us.
We must, once and for all, get effective pressure put on Cambodia to uphold human rights, and that means more than just sending protest notes. It is for that reason that I would suggest that we should – and as soon as possible – invite the United Nations special envoy to Cambodia to this House for in-depth discussions with him about the state of affairs in this tormented country. We can rejoice that our pressure and that exerted by the Americans – for it is good that we are cooperating in this – has resulted in the release of prisoners, but, while certainly acknowledging this, we know that they are still going to be put on trial. We know that there are many other prisoners, and that many more summonses and arrest warrants have been issued, and we are particularly aware of the repression of minorities. In contending against these things, we must do so with persistence, for persistence, above all, is what human rights policy is all about."@en1
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