Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-07-Speech-4-216"
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"en.20050707.30.4-216"2
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"Ethiopia is a typical case in which the European Union can make a difference and in which it also applies itself to making a difference. Like all of you, I followed very closely the development of the electoral process in Ethiopia. I followed it before the elections, and I have to say that the electoral campaign was a model of democracy, with access to the media for everyone. It was from the time that the elections started that there was a genuine problem. I was obviously a witness to the serious incidents that occurred on 7 and 8 June 2005. I intervened personally. Mr Solana intervened. You should know that I was in contact almost every two days with Prime Minister Meles to inform him of the EU’s concerns about the progress of the elections and, more specifically, about the human rights violations that were committed during those incidents.
Prime Minister Meles told us that he would accept the verdict of the electorate when it is announced by the institution that is to make known the precise results. If, for example, it were necessary to hold fresh elections in a number of constituencies etc., he would fall in with this. We shall see what comes of the matter. In any case, each time that he has committed himself to do something, he has done it. It was important that I informed you of this.
The picture I am painting is not as black as that painted by certain speakers. Of course, the situation is a delicate one. Naturally, it is risky. Of course, it is dangerous. Who would imagine otherwise? Since I have been a Commissioner, however, this is the first time I have been aware that, when the various institutions – Parliament, High Representatives, the Commission and delegations on the spot – work together, including with the Member States and using all the instruments available to the European Union, they are effective. That is certainly the case where Ethiopia is concerned. I have the feeling that we have been really very useful, but I should like again to thank Mrs Gomes from the bottom of my heart because she has been of great help to us.
Clearly, the messages that the European Union and others have sent, and continue to send, to the authorities have some effect, as shown by the government decision to release approximately 3 800 people arrested without charge following the demonstrations. We have had many telephone contacts and, on each occasion, Mr Meles has responded to our request. I spoke with him and President Barroso three days ago in Libya. There are apparently still 600 to 700 detainees, many of them held in secret. Prime Minister Meles told me that he was trying to speed up settlement of these issues and that the majority of these detainees would probably be freed if they were being held for no reason. The Ethiopian authorities have to respect not only their laws but also international human rights standards. We have asked for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be allowed to visit those who are still prisoners.
With regard to the events of 7 and 8 June, it would be desirable if the Government were to authorise an independent inquiry in order fully to establish the facts and the charges. Prime Minister Meles told me that he was in a position to respond to this request and that he was going to do so.
Regarding the electoral process, I am very pleased about the progress made after the serious risk of matters going off course, just as I am very pleased that it has been possible to make a start on dealing with the electoral dispute. I have asked all the political parties – I have met them all, including the opposition parties – and their leaders to observe the maximum restraint so as to enable the national election administration to complete its work independently.
The European Union has also arranged – in response to a request from the opposition parties – for representatives of each party, including the opposition parties, to sit on the committee set up to receive complaints. There too, we have obtained satisfaction. We were also the only key player in negotiating a code of conduct for the media. This code is well on the way to being adopted by all the parties, and it is more than likely that it will be adopted fairly quickly. The Commission and the EU as a whole very much want Ethiopia to conclude the electoral process not only in the interests of the country’s stability but also because of the terrific signal that real democratisation of the country would send out. Both through the European Union’s election observation mission and through the political dialogue conducted within the country itself by the Commission’s representative, the Commission is at the forefront of the initiatives and is playing a constructive role appreciated by all the Ethiopian parties. We shall continue to support the process.
I should also like sincerely and publicly to thank and congratulate the honourable Member, Mrs Gomes in view of her remarkable work as head of the European election observation mission and the excellent collaboration she has made possible between herself and ourselves. We have had contacts, and I appreciate the degree to which she has helped bring our positions closer together. I wanted very much to say that she has gone beyond her simple role as head of the observation mission and that she really has been a quite remarkable facilitator.
I am convinced that the European Union will continue to engage in constructive, but firm and demanding, dialogue in order to continue to have a positive effect on the process under way in Ethiopia. This process is obviously a delicate one. In each camp, extremists are only waiting for a mistake to be made or for an opportunity to spark things off. I think that this collective responsibility – involving Parliament, the Commission and the Council – should forestall this worst case scenario and keep each camp committed to the legal framework and current electoral and political process.
I should like, even so, to add something. Without taking sides, I should like in any case to say that the influence of the European Union is, to some extent, helped by Prime Minister Meles’s open approach and, above all, by his considerable confidence in the European Union. He sees the European Union as an institution and a reality to believe in and to respect. Hence, his relative promptness in responding to our requests and entreaties and, indeed, our demands. I am convinced that, if we can continue to support the process, we shall play a conciliatory role, and democracy could quite easily come into its own again in Ethiopia."@en1
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