Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-29-Speech-3-043"
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"en.20030129.2.3-043"2
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"Having listened, Mr President, to the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs yesterday and Mr Solana and Mr Patten today, it seems to me that they are engaged in a painful struggle to keep their options for war open while, at the same time, entertaining what can only be described as downright opposition on the part of our citizens to the prospect of war. The European Union’s famous common position is basically a manifesto for war; that much is clear from the fact that Blair has signed it.
If the European Union were against war with Iraq, it would exercise its veto in the Security Council. Its Member States would not be sending frigates to the Gulf and would not be accommodating US demands. They would be abiding by the principle of the UN, which precludes military action except in self-defence, which does not apply here. The European Union is therefore merely stalling for time so that it can finish haggling with the USA for control of Iraq’s oil fields. This is what this is really about, if the truth be told. If Iraq had no black gold, frankly no one would give a damn. Its supposed weapons of mass destruction are just a pretext. There are countries in the world, such as India, Pakistan and Israel, that possess weapons of mass destruction, and there are countries, like the USA, that produce and sell and use them.
We Communists have no time for Saddam Hussein’s bloody dictatorship. We have a score to settle with him because our thousands of Iraqi comrades were his first victims. However, whether or not he should remain in power is a question only the Iraqi people can answer and it is our duty to offer them active political solidarity. Just as in the last war and during the embargo on Iraq, this war will have disastrous consequences for the long-suffering Iraqi people. And as things now stand, it will have dramatic consequences – including economic consequences – closer to home. What we must call for, therefore, is for this criminal war to be averted at all costs, with or without a UN resolution. Yes to the peaceful resolution of international problems. No to any move to accommodate the sabre-rattling president of the United States acting as the mouthpiece of multinational interests. We must express our solidarity with the American people, more and more of whom are raising their voices in protest against this war."@en1
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