Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-15-Speech-3-011"
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"en.20060215.2.3-011"2
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".
Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats is following the controversy over the caricatures with great concern. One thing is crystal clear to us, however, and this forms our guiding principle. We shall defend freedom of the press, and we shall protect the feelings of believers, irrespective of their religion, and also the symbols that are important to them. We shall defend human rights and the achievements of the Enlightenment, and we shall uphold the right to profess one’s faith, to be different and to be respected. It is only possible to achieve all this at the same time if all parties first remain calm and level-headed. Therefore, our plea today goes out, in particular, to representatives of the media in Europe, in Iran, in other Islamic countries; it goes out to those who seek to inflate the caricature row to a matter of political principle. Meeting polemic with polemic, aggression with aggression, and insensitivity with insensitivity, is not the way to a good future. We want an order that defends freedom of expression as one of the supreme human rights, whilst also being aware of its limits, which are to be found in the freedom and dignity of others. This order must show respect for the beliefs and religious sensitivities of others, whilst at the same time enabling a peaceful, constructive dialogue on the things that divide us both superficially and deep down at the heart of our being, of our values, experiences and feelings.
It follows from this that violence as a means of agitating or inciting outrage at differing opinions can never be accepted. We condemn all the instigators of the violent reactions in various countries across the world, for this was no spontaneous reaction – it did not take place until several months after the event – but was organised in part by regimes that do not value freedom of expression, but rather repress their people. This, too, must be made quite clear.
We oppose all forms of violence; not only against people, but also against objects – flags or buildings – and we condemn them in the strongest terms. It is important to now add to this a rather more specific approach, as merely pledging ourselves to dialogue between cultures is not sufficient. I should like to make two very specific proposals; imperfect ones, admittedly, but food for thought nevertheless. Firstly, because we need to start with the young people, we should set up a committee of experts to examine school books in Europe and in the Islamic world to see the kind of words and values that are being attributed to each other and disseminated by this means. This committee should be under the joint auspices of the EU and the Organization of the Islamic Conference and, to make it most effective, the UN Secretary-General should be involved in the choice of experts.
We, or rather the Islamic world, have become agitated over a number of caricatures in a European – Danish – newspaper and other newspapers; but this is only one instance of hundreds – not to say thousands – of caricatures, including those in the Islamic world making fun of our – Christian – values and our convictions. This has to stop: both here and in the countries of the Islamic world.
Secondly, I was among those Members who participated in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona. We should use the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly to bring together elected politicians and representatives of civil society from Europe and our partner countries for regular dialogue and targeted discussions within the framework of the Barcelona process. The Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly could thus be a pivotal forum for the dialogue between cultures.
Allow me to make one personal remark. From 1999 to this year, 2006, I have visited 16 Arab and Islamic countries. I recall a conversation with a very committed, credible senior cleric in Saudi Arabia, which was, all in all, a wonderful conversation. He then asked me how Muslims were treated in Europe. I replied that we should often like to see better integration, but that Muslims could practise their faith freely. I then asked a question in return: is it true that, in Saudi Arabia, the law requires that any Muslim wishing to convert to Christianity be punished with death? I did not receive an answer.
Tolerance is important; but it is a two-way process. Tolerance, reconciliation and understanding must be based on the truth, and that is what we advocate. I emphatically welcome what the President of the Commission said: an attack on one Member State is an attack on us all. In this sense, we of course stand in solidarity with Denmark, and this debate should send out a signal of tolerance and understanding, albeit based on reciprocity and recognition of the truth. Only then will we be on the path towards a good future based on dialogue between cultures."@en1
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