Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-15-Speech-4-188"
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"en.20010215.8.4-188"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I shall speak in the same vein as my fellow Members and clarify that Guinea today is home to almost 500 000 refugees, who, for ten years, have been fleeing civil wars raging in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In many cases, they refused to join the armed forces. I think anyone who has read Ahmadou Kourouma’s book ‘Allah Doesn’t Have To’ will be familiar with the tragedy of the child soldiers forced to join possibly revolutionary but most certainly bloodthirsty armies such as the United Revolutionary Front.
I would also like to say, like Mr van Hecke, that a safety corridor to allow the mass evacuation of refugees must be established immediately, as it is, indeed, a matter of urgency. The Guinean Government must allow the victims to settle in areas that are further from the fighting and the borders. In my view, that is the least it could do.
Obviously, it is justifiable and understandable for Guinea to defend itself against any incursion. I am even of the opinion that the territorial integrity of a state like Guinea must be protected. However, the Guinean Government must also prevent paramilitaries acting in the place of legitimate armed forces and perpetrating acts of violence on refugees. I share the view that Guinea is not solely responsible, but I feel that it should do this, at least.
That is why the decision of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to use troops from West Africa must be supported and must come into force as soon as possible, as it may provide good protection.
To sum up, the European Union should put intense pressure upon Liberia to end its support for forces such as the URF. However, Guinea is also partly responsible for the current situation, and is, even so, a country that regularly violates human rights – no one in the House could forget the imprisonment of Alpha Condé. I believe that it is important to reiterate that, in a country that has no respect for the most basic democratic principles and where the slightest opposition is quashed, it is not surprising, although it is extremely regrettable, that one of the regime’s opposition parties has joined the rebellion and allied itself with the URF.
My last point is to say that Africa is in urgent need of democratic rule and genuine economic development, which will improve the fortunes of all people. We can help to achieve this.
I have a question to put to the Council. When will our governments cancel the debt owed by third-world countries, knowing as they do that this is the cause of wars and poverty?"@en1
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