Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-14-Speech-3-369-000"
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"en.20110914.27.3-369-000"2
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"Madam President, I am sure the House regrets, like I do, the absence of Lady Ashton. On the other hand, I recognise that the work she is doing in the region is of primordial importance, not just for Middle East peace, but also for wider regional stability and security which, as has so often been said, has been dramatically altered by the extraordinary events of the Arab Spring and its fall-out.
I recall a debate in this Chamber on 8 March, when many of us were demanding that the European Union should recognise the National Transitional Council. I had the honour to be one of the first politicians in Europe to welcome Mahmoud Jibril, the current acting Prime Minister, to my office here. At that time, Baroness Ashton was extremely reluctant to commit herself. I think that was a pity, because European leadership on this question would have been quite accessible. Immediately thereafter, Mr Jibril went to Paris and got the recognition of the French President.
This Chamber has been the source of some informative and inspirational debate, but today we are looking at a Libya which has transformed since we last met here in July. Across the region, the developments from the Arab Spring are evolving in an unsteady way – whether it is in Egypt or in Tunisia, which I visited recently and is facing elections very soon now. My message to the House today, and to those listening from other institutions, is that we must be ready for change, but also for uncertainty, because the future is not as clear as we might have hoped a few months ago.
Can I conclude by saying that I do hope the House can support the consensus that the Sakharov prize should be awarded to the martyrs of the Arab Spring and some of the leading personalities within it. This would be an extremely important and timely gesture showing that we care about democracy and human rights, and that we want them to extend not just to Libya, to Tunisia and to Egypt, but far beyond that in the Arab world and elsewhere."@en1
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