Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-02-Speech-3-130"
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"en.20030702.3.3-130"2
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".
Mr President, following the Council's position, clearly expressed by the President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Frattini, I must say that the Commission can only repeat that the European Union is firmly committed to the fight against terrorism and, in this regard, that it supports Russia in its legitimate fight against terrorism in Chechnya or anywhere else. There must be no doubt about this. This means that the defence of human rights is an absolute and that, if the main violation of human rights is terrorism itself, which does not respect the basic right to life, that does not mean that we must not always be aware, in any action or fight against terrorism, that human rights are a fundamental element which must be respected at all times.
Having said all of this, and moving on to the areas which are more directly related to the Commission's activity – which is what I am going to focus on in order not to repeat what has already been said – I would point out that it is necessary to make progress on the possibility of providing humanitarian aid in Chechnya. As the honourable Members know, the European Union, by means of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), is the main provider of humanitarian aid in the Northern Caucasus. Since October 1999 we have provided more than EUR 110 million in aid to the victims of the conflicts in Chechnya. The security conditions in the Northern Caucasus are still deficient, which means that there are considerable logistical problems. However, the Commission trusts that the Russian authorities will adopt a more open attitude, for example, with regard to the attempts to liberate Arjan Erkel, the European aid worker who is still being held hostage.
The reluctance, in certain cases, of the Russian authorities to allow non-governmental organisations to use the necessary radio communications, as well as the system for granting residency and work permits in Chechnya, remain the principal obstacles to providing humanitarian aid. In this regard, we will continue to call for improvements in the treatment offered, in order to facilitate the carrying out of humanitarian operations, in accordance with the basic rules on safety, efficiency and supervision and, of course, independent evaluation.
Furthermore, although the Russian authorities have assured us that they will not repatriate the thousands of displaced persons in neighbouring areas to Chechnya by force, referred to a moment ago by the President-in-Office of the Council, the truth is that ECHO has informed us that it is observing that the possibility of replacing the deteriorating tents and building more solid shelters in neighbouring Ingushetia is being denied.
Returning to Chechnya must not be the only option for the displaced people. In addition to continuing to closely monitor how events develop in general, we will continue to insist in particular that any repatriation of displaced Chechens must take place voluntarily and unconditionally. With a view to the future, the Commission will continue to monitor how the situation develops, including the work under way, with a view to the signature of a treaty intended to clarify the status of Chechnya within the Russian Federation, as well as the preparations for the presidential and parliamentary elections in the Russian republic, scheduled for October and December. In this regard, we will continue to analyse how the situation develops.
The Commission is now stressing that all these actions, all this progress, should take place with the utmost transparency, entirely in accordance with international rules, and, above all, that they should be carried out in a way that helps to resolve this conflict once and for all."@en1
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