Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-14-Speech-3-364-000"
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"en.20110914.27.3-364-000"2
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"Madam President, the Arab Spring is surely the most important world event to take place this year. I would therefore like to express my support for the proposal to award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to this revolutionary process. This gesture would, and will, have undeniable symbolic value.
For years and years the European Union and its governments were complicit in dictatorial regimes that oppressed aspirations of freedom in the Arab world. Since then, this side of the Mediterranean has always preferred business to freedom, the repression of migratory flows to respect for human rights, and even silence to denunciation. This is a time of change, and the question is whether we really want to change, or simply to give the appearance of doing so.
In Libya the defence of civilian victims has turned into an aerial war for regime change, promoted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The military action undertaken by this organisation, led by Paris and London, has exceeded and distorted the very mandate of the United Nations (UN). This abuse is so overt that military action is still continuing, even though pockets of resistance are minimal. NATO bombing does not ensure the success of the revolution that has reached Tripoli: rather, at this point it is increasing the scope for business that the reconstruction of infrastructure will ensure for the various governments involved in the war.
Some people are very concerned about the oil exploration contracts that Total SA may acquire. However, my concerns are different. I would like the National Transitional Council to clearly uphold the commitments that it has made regarding national reconciliation and respect for human rights, in particular those of women and immigrants, and Europe must support them in this priority.
Every spring eventually turns to autumn, even in Libya. About half a million immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa fled Libya and are now in Tunisia and Egypt without the support that they need. This is the top priority at this time.
In addition, in Libya it was not only Colonel Gaddafi’s forces and NATO planes that killed civilians: unworthy acts have also been committed on the rebel side. In light of this, it is also vital to ensure an independent investigation that contributes to national reconciliation.
Our support for democratic movements has to be genuine. We must allow peoples to take charge of their own destinies, and Europe’s role should not be one of intervention or double standards. We cannot condemn the repression in Syria yet silence it in Bahrain. We cannot boycott oil from Syria yet accept it from Yemen. Indeed, we should not accept boycotts that harm a country’s population. This is the only way in which the Arab Spring will bear fruit, because it will be the work of the Arabs themselves."@en1
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