Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-06-Speech-4-135"
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"en.20070906.18.4-135"2
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"Mr President, Bangladesh is territorially about the same size as Greece but has a population almost twice that of Germany. It became a nation only in 1971 following years of civil war which involved neighbouring ex-British colonies, Pakistan and India. Bangladesh suffered 15 years of military dictatorship and, although civilian government was restored in 1990, the country is far from having a true democracy.
Today, it is a very poor nation plagued by widespread corruption, political interference by the military, severe abuses of human rights, bans on political activities, discrimination against women, religious extremism and a long list of other evils, some of which are mentioned in the resolution. Yet, as is stated clearly in Recital N: ‘the EU and Bangladesh have good long-lasting relations and are important economic partners’. This is true, but so much for choosing our friends and partners and so much for being successful in helping such friendly nations to improve their state of prosperity, their level of democracy and the rule of law.
In fairness, the EU has tried to improve things in Bangladesh, but has it tried hard enough? Has the aid given to Bangladesh been directed properly at improving the nation’s productivity infrastructure or has it been deviated into the pockets of corrupt officials? Has the pressure on the military to stop interfering with the nation’s political life been severe and determined enough, or has it been weak and ineffective?
One can provide one’s own answers to these questions. However, my view is that we are a long way from doing what is necessary; there is an urgent need to review our policy on Bangladesh, not excluding the implementation of sanctions and certainly including the serving of stern warnings to neighbouring Pakistan and India to resist the temptation of interfering in the internal affairs of Bangladesh."@en1
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