Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-182"
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"en.20060405.18.3-182"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament has frequently discussed the issue of Belarus – unfortunately, with very good reason. I would remind you that, immediately following the elections, you held a very serious and very convincing special debate on this matter, in which I also had the honour of participating. The Council, too, has, of necessity, had Belarus on its agenda for some time now, because the country gives considerable cause for concern.
It is tragic, what the people of Belarus are now having to go through, and we must, today, express our solidarity with them. I know that you are doing that, as are the Council and, of course, the Commission. I should also like to join the President in welcoming Mr Milinkevich most warmly and to say how pleased I am that he is here for this debate. I hope that he will draw further courage from the support that all the institutions of the European Union lend to him, his supporters and the brave men and women of Belarus. I would remind you that the President of the European Council, Chancellor Schüssel, spoke of Mr Milinkevich during this morning's debate, saying 'we owe him all conceivable political and economic support wherever it is required'. I should like to emphasise that point here.
Even before the elections, the Council was deeply concerned with the situation in Belarus and had clearly warned the government, in particular President Lukashenko, not to trample on human rights, to respect the people's right and freedom of assembly and their right to demonstrate; it also pointed out, when a minister quite unbelievably threatened to treat demonstrators as terrorists, that the European Union would not accept that. As we know, and as the OSCE/ODIHR observers established, the elections were not democratic. This is most unfortunate, as I remember that some here had expressed the hope that the elections might form a turning point.
The European Union as a whole and the Council in particular can now essentially do two things: first, we must make it clear that we will not tolerate such behaviour. We therefore need to take specific action against those responsible for these events. The Council – and now the European Council too – has, in principle, decided to take appropriate action against those responsible for violations of human rights and of the rules of democracy in Belarus. The Council is now preparing a decision that will realise and implement this. A visa ban will be imposed on a number of people, including the president himself, as the European Council also specifically said in its declaration appended to the conclusions.
The Council is also examining the possibility of further action, whereby it must always be ensured – and I know that you agree with this – that any action taken must not harm the population. We do not want to take any action that harms the people, and not those responsible. That is why the second thing that the European Union can and must do – and the Council has already discussed this, too – is take specific action to help the population. I am sure that Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will make a detailed statement and list the specific measures that could be taken.
The Member States also have a duty, and I would say this quite clearly to all the Member States: when it comes to giving young people the opportunity to study in our countries, and when it comes to assisting civil society, then, alongside the European Union – and the Commission is taking specific action here – we, the Member States, also have to take quite specific action. As Chancellor Schüssel said this morning, a group of states, including Austria, has already decided to provide special grants for young people from Belarus, in order to give them the opportunity to travel to our countries, to see how democratic countries work, to learn, and to take the message home that the European Union supports them and has not forgotten them. This message that we have not forgotten the people, that we want to help them and that we support them is also absolutely essential.
Finally, we must not grow tired of calling on the government to set at liberty those who have been imprisoned. We must remind them that all that these people have done is to make use of one of their human rights, namely the right to demonstrate and to express their opinion freely. The Council will continue to do this. We will not leave the people of Belarus in the lurch and we will not rest until – as Mrs Plassnik said – Spring arrives in that country."@en1
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