Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-11-Speech-3-012-000"
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"en.20110511.4.3-012-000"2
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"Mr President, on Saturday, I had a long meeting in Cairo with the new Egyptian Prime Minister, Mr Sharaf. The conclusion of this meeting, and my conclusion also after this meeting on my second trip to Cairo in the last two months, is – as you have indicated – that we need to give massive help to these revolutions in North Africa and especially to developments in Egypt. We must stop making our little paternalistic adjustments that we have announced up to now.
I shall give a short comparison. Do you know how much money was transferred under the US Marshall Plan? For years in a row? 1% of GDP every year. USD 162 billion in actual money. And what are we talking about and promising Egypt? One billion. Not 162 billion, but one billion. Not in 2011, not in 2012, but in 2013, when we have the possibility to do so. I think that is nothing at all. What I expect from you and from the Commission – because it is apparently Commission money we are talking about – is not big plans about changing the Neighbourhood Policy. We need to do that in the future, but what I expect is direct budget aid given to Egypt as fast as possible, because by the end of the year, they will have no money in their budget and that could be the beginning of a counter-revolution in Egypt. Direct budget aid or cancelling the country’s debts – that is the way forward immediately. An announcement today in that direction would certainly be helpful for Egypt and for the Egyptians.
My second message is about Syria. Let us be honest, Baroness Ashton. Syria is a huge disaster. What is happening there – and I have no other words to describe it – is nothing less than an Arab Tiananmen. An Arab Tiananmen. People massacred by tanks and by snipers every day. 800 people killed to date. 8 000 people arrested to date. People tortured in the most brutal way in order to release passwords on Facebook and the names of comrades working on Facebook. Soldiers who do not want to shoot at their own people are themselves shot by the secret services of the army and of Bashar al-Assad. From what is happening today in Syria, it is very clear that there is only one way to describe Bashar al-Assad, and that is as the most brutal dictator in the world at the moment. That is the clear analysis we can make today.
So what can be done? I see 800 people killed to date, 8 000 people imprisoned, some of them tortured every day, and we are freezing the assets of 13 people, but not Assad. I say this is an unbalanced approach. It is, in fact, ridiculous, and it is not helping to press the Assad regime to change its direction. It is not enough to say 13 people and one of Assad’s brothers is there, and one of his nieces or nephews is on the list. No, there are hundreds of people you have to put on the list immediately, as fast as possible, to apply real pressure.
I can understand your approach a little bit. You are saying that if I leave Assad off the list, maybe it will help him change his attitude later on. OK then, make that very clear here today in the debate. I want you to declare that you give Assad a few days. If, in these few days, he does not stop what is happening at the moment, then freeze all assets, not only of the 13 people but of the whole Assad family.
Impose a travel ban not on 13 people when 800 are killed, but on the whole Assad family and declare what is very important. They are waiting for that.
Yesterday, we had a link directly with people in Syria who are saying that you have to strengthen the sanctions, otherwise he will not stop. Declare that the Assad family will never be considered by the European Union as the real representatives of the Syrian people, and that they will be accountable for their crimes. Do it right now. That is what we expect today from you. You can help to stop this Arab Tiananmen. It is not true that we play no role: we play an essential role and the people of Syria are waiting for this clear message today. Not tomorrow. Today."@en1
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