Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-08-Speech-4-160"

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"en.20050908.20.4-160"2
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". Mr President, even before the era when power ended up in the hands of father and son al-Assad, Syria laboured under the belief that that country deserved to be much bigger and more powerful than it really is, and that it should include Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and parts of Iraq. Syria blames France and Great Britain for needlessly splitting up these regions, which they had won from Turkey in the First World War and for hence making impossible their return to the greater Syria that existed before the Ottoman Empire. Over 40 years ago, the desire for greatness caused Syria to join with Egypt and Yemen in leading the attempt to create a United Arab Republic. It was when this project failed and Syria also lost the Golan area in 1967 to Israel that the seeds of an authoritarian and militaristic regime were sown. The regime is intolerant of ethnic minorities, of Christianity and of interpretations of Islam that deviate from the version propagated by the state. It is also intolerant towards domestic opposition, distrustful of neighbouring countries and even more distrustful of great powers further away. Over the years, violent acts by exiles from other countries have been supported from Syrian territory and it is also suspected that recent political assassinations in Lebanon were organised from Syria. The European Union hopes to establish strong relations with all the states in its immediate surroundings, including all countries around the Mediterranean. Indeed, if Turkey ever joins the European Union, Syria will become our immediate neighbour, as will Iraq. My group thinks that it is not only economic or military considerations that should play a role as our relationship with Syria becomes even deeper. The European Union must place more emphasis on the release of political prisoners, the right to opposition and the government’s democratisation. How will the Commission do this? Whilst we should appreciate the circumstances as a result of which Syria has ended up in this bad situation at present, we should not resign ourselves to this. The democratisation of Syria now takes priority over closer trading relations. The al-Assad family’s criminal regime must not be rewarded for bad behaviour. By taking this line, we will contribute to making Syria democratic, and the recognition of a Palestinian state will also have a part to play in this."@en1

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