Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-15-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20060215.2.3-012"2
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"Mr President; Mr President-in-Office of the Council; Mr Barroso, President of the Commission; Mr Schulz, our group chairman, has asked me to talk today on behalf of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, and that is something that I am pleased to do where this matter is concerned. It has been terrible and shocking to see people killed, my own country’s and other countries’ flags burned, ambassadors attacked and boycotts implemented, causing large numbers of innocent people to lose their jobs. It has been doubly depressing, given that our countries’ history has also been about tolerance of other peoples and about understanding and respect for them. We have led the way in international solidarity and in economic and political aid to poor peoples around the world. We have always fought for justice and for peoples’ right to their own independent states characterised by peaceful co-existence, especially in Palestine.
It is absolutely crucial that the violence we see should not get completely out of hand. That violence must stop now, and I should like, personally and on behalf of my country, to thank Mr Barroso for the clear signal he has sent out today in Parliament and for the solidarity he has shown with my country and with all those countries that have been attacked. An attack on one Member State is an attack on the European Union as a whole.
It is also important to emphasise, however, that the European Union stands for the opposite of xenophobia and intolerance. European values are based on respect for peoples and religions. The whole of our bloody history has taught us the wisdom of mutual understanding, dignity and co-existence. The first thing I should therefore like to say today to the whole of the Muslim world and to everyone in Europe is that freedom of expression is not something on which we are able to compromise. No government or ordinary citizen can put a question mark over that freedom. Freedom of expression does not, however, exist in a vacuum. It must and will be exercised with responsibility. Nor can we compromise on respect for other peoples and religions. This is also fundamental to the human rights on which Europe and the UN are based. Freedom of expression must therefore go hand in hand with respect for other peoples. That is the way things have to be.
I should like to use my freedom of expression today to criticise and clearly repudiate the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that appeared in a Danish newspaper a few months ago. Publishing them was arrogant and disrespectful and reflected a total lack of knowledge of Islam. I should like to emphasise that the cartoons do not reflect the attitudes of ordinary Danes. We are well aware, both in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe, that the love of our own country, dignity and religion does not require us to criticise others or talk down to them when what is in question is something they regard as holy. I also know that many people in Europe cannot understand why the Danish Prime Minister refused to meet ambassadors from the Arab world. That is something that I too fail to understand. We cannot, however, change what has happened. Most important of all is the fact that the Danish Government subsequently used its freedom of expression clearly to express respect for other peoples and their religions, not least Islam. We must now look forward.
We want to send a clear signal today: we are determined to ignore new provocations, which cannot be used by extremists in Europe and in the Muslim world to inflame violence and intolerance and create new myths about each other.
We have seen it so many times before from xenophobic and populist parties in Europe and from the extremist movements in the Muslim world. We say ‘no’ to those who claim it is ‘them against us’. For much too long, extremists on both sides have been allowed to play their false tune. Worst of all, they have inflamed hatred and fear and they have gained an audience for their views. It is time for moderate and responsible voices to set a new agenda, as Mr Barroso said, a new agenda which clearly and unambiguously shows that there is another way.
We in Europe do not want to add fuel to the extremists’ fire. Here, in the European Parliament, we have a clear message: we want to unite all forces in a new and far stronger dialogue with the Islamic world, building on unconditional respect – a respect extending beyond borders and applying to all people and religions. We know that we live in a globalised world. That gives us a special responsibility. In this globalised world it is not ‘them against us’: we are one. And no, it is not a clash between religions or civilisations.
What we have witnessed are ignorant acts creating humiliation and insult. This was used by extremists to inflame hatred and violence. However, trying to understand the broader reactions, those cartoons, together with manipulation from extremists, were the last straw. Let us not forget the many years of social and economic frustrations in many Muslim societies. Let us now realise what humiliation and arrogance from those with power and wealth can result in.
Let us not fall prey to short-sighted sanctions but, instead, stand by our economic and political cooperation. Let us put behind us what the cartoons initiated. Let it be the last thing to cause provocation, and let the next step unite us to build a stronger dialogue – critical, open, permanent and constructive."@en1
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