Brussels, 07/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 7 July, the European Parliament condemned the Syrian regime's crackdown and called for a humanitarian corridor from the north to neighbouring Turkey to carry aid to people trying to flee government forces. In a resolution in Strasbourg, MEPs also called for the EU to release frozen assets, belonging to Libya's leaders, to the rebels to meet humanitarian needs. “The massacre of innocent people must end. We call on Bashar al-Assad to stop the repression, to release all peaceful demonstrators immediately and unconditionally, and to accept the citizens' request for dignity, freedom and democracy”, leaders of the Socialist and Democrats Group said. According to human rights groups, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed since the security crackdown began in March. Some 10,000 people have been arrested. Those who fled the fighting in the north have started returning from the border, but almost 10,000 of the displaced remain in Turkey. A further 15,000 people at least remain in the frontier zone. In the resolution, MEPs called on the EU “to immediately provide aid and support to the Turkish and Lebanese authorities in their efforts to manage the humanitarian crisis on their borders with Syria, including by setting up a humanitarian corridor at UN level”. Addressing the assembly, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton expressed great concern for Syria's people and said that Assad's promises of reform and dialogue were weak.
On Libya, MEPs urged Ashton and EU member states “to act urgently to make part of the frozen Libyan assets available to the Transitional National Council … so that emergency needs can be met”, under UN supervision. They also called on the EU to redouble its efforts to find a solution to the conflict, taking into account the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, one of his sons and the head of the intelligence services. The resolution also condemned the repression in Bahrain and Yemen.
“Will we live up to the expectations of our citizens who see external policy as a thermometer for taking the temperature of the state of the EU, and will we be able to accompany the transition processes in these countries?”. That was the question put by José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra of Spain, speaking on behalf of the EPP Group. Addressing Catherine Ashton, he added: “We hope you will be very successful in your work, but for that you must act at the highest level possible, with a political profile.”
On behalf of the S&D Group, Véronique De Keyser said the crackdown in Syria today is “bloody, cruel and merciless. Even children are not spared”, and she asserted that President Bashar al-Assad “seems to have crossed a red line, the line of no-return”. Addressing High Representative Ashton, she went on: “Syria is plunging into violence. You must not think twice about going to Damascus. At this point, we need a powerful political gesture and a high-level European presence on the spot. The opportunity for this is perhaps still open, and I call on you to seize it if you can”. Aid to these countries is today a test, she added, saying: “I hope, of course, that the different structures (including the task force) and the External Action Service will win the challenge hands down, as our credibility depends on it”.
ALDE Group leader Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium asked Ashton if she had seen the video on You Tube in which one sees a Syrian filming his own death as he is fired upon by a sniper. Verhofstadt hopes sanctions will be extended to the 200 families that support the government as, without their support, al-Assad would not be where he is. Also, as in Syria there is no “front line”, he recommends the creation of a sort of demilitarised zone. The “colossal energy” released by the Arab spring, as Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France) put it, “throws off balance any preconceptions we may have had about the Arab world's atavism”. Flautre is one of the many MEPs who recalled that Turkey may be a precious ally when it comes to convincing countries like Russia, Brazil and even China that they should sign a United Nations Security Council resolution. Finally, she recognised that Catherine Ashton was rightly intuitive well before the Arab spring when she said that the Union's credibility is played out in its neighbouring countries. During the fifties, the founding father of Israel, David Ben Gourion, had hoped that the change of regime in Egypt would modify its relations with Israel, said Bastiaan Belder (EFD, Netherlands), who now fears that the Muslim Brotherhood could have an influence over the Palestinians. In Yemen, tribes that had never exchanged a word are now beginning to speak to each other, said Andreas Mölzer (NA, Austria), but the counter-revolutionary forces are awakening and the Union must react by pulling out its diplomats.
In the context of the general debate, the former commissioner for development, Louis Michel (ALDE), put another proposal forward, saying he was aware of the “limits of diplomacy” but said one could perhaps “ask member states to expel Syrian diplomatic staff”. He added: “One cannot ignore the opportunity to link what is happening in the Arab world with what is expected to happen in the Middle East”. His comments echoed those made by the former president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP, Germany), who was convinced that things will start moving in relations between Israel and the Palestinians, ensuring the freedom of both as “freedom is never a threat”. Those who are opposed to Palestinians' entry to the United Nations must, he said, agree to opening talks between the two parties. Like Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia), he would be in favour of a major, detailed debate in Parliament on the whole Middle East peace process. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE, Germany) paid tribute to the clarity of remarks by Catherine Ashton concerning the next Quartet meeting, but expressed concern about the different positions held by some member nations especially his own, Germany, and France.
Turkey's role was underlined on several occasions during the debate. David-Maria Sassoli (S&D, Italy) pressed for greater clarity on Union relations with Turkey, and said they should have had more confidence on it. Ioannis Kasoulides (EPP, Cyprus) drew attention to the unacceptable living conditions in which minorities in countries as wealthy as Bahrain live. In order to bring the situation in Libya out of deadlock, he believes it should be possible to send forces that would intervene on the ground for 24 hours and then withdraw - which, he says, would not be tantamount to “occupation”. Military intervention is not the solution, according to Austrian Socialist Johannes Swoboda, who would like to step up the Union's political presence in the region and who energetically criticises exports of German tanks to Saudi Arabia (described as a “grim regime”). Geoffrey Van Orden (ECR, UK) took the view that all exports of European weapons to the region should be frozen. Given the stalemate in Libya, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (ALDE, Belgium), was convinced that “however unpalatable it may be, we must be ready to talk with leaders we deeply despise”. Public opinion is destabilised by the sometimes contradictory behaviour of the Union and its member states in the region, commented Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D, Italy), who called on the EU to avail itself of an effective Euro-Mediterranean operational structure. Belgian Socialist Said El Khadroui, although in favour of political dialogue with the protagonists of the Arab spring, said such dialogue must allow action to be taken, including the development of strategies likely to appease a number of the Union's discussion partners. These countries must also be helped economically, and immediately, says British Labour member Richard Howitt and Marielle De Sarnez (ALDE, France) as “there is no democracy without development”. De Sarnez also called for “a European migration policy, a policy that is not just the sum total of all selfish national policies”.
The situation is not identical in all countries, several MEPs pointed out. These included Mario David (EPP, Portugal), who noted the peaceful transition in Jordan, and called for the reform process to be speeded up; and Francisco Millán Mon (EPP, Spain), who was encouraged by the good results of the referendum on reform in Morocco. According to Niccolo Rinaldi (ALDE, Italy), one must aid those who deserve it the most, and differentiate between them. He said: “Trade with Tunisia and Egypt must be carried out with agreements that are different from those with other countries of the region”. Rinaldi is among those who support the idea of an “Erasmus scheme for the Mediterranean region”.
Catherine Ashton, who listened to a debate almost three hours long, said she was struck by the frequent use of the word “dignity”. “I didn't use it myself but it is exactly the right word”, she said. She was open to suggestions on extending sanctions against Syria and on the idea of a “safe zone” (although this would require a UN Security Council resolution). Although EU delegations in Arab countries have been reduced, Ashton underlined the importance of keeping in daily contact with civil society. She also said how useful it was to have contacts with Arab diplomats in Europe. Ashton agrees with the Parliament that swift and firm action must be taken to release children from prison. Work on all these initiatives will be carried out with all partners, naturally including Turkey.
High Representative Ashton then spoke of the situation in: Lebanon: Concern has been expressed regarding the Hezbollah but the head of government is not a member. The Union will keep its pressure up in order to make progress, especially in the field of justice. Iran: The development of nuclear weapons remains worrying. The Union has pointed out that “what was put on the table remains there” but that the Union is “open to ideas for the purpose of finding solutions”. Middle East peace process: More time is spent on this issue than on any other but “we want it for both of them, we are not for one or the other”, exclaimed Catherine Ashton speaking of the two parties, recognising that the situation in Gaza is dramatic but so, also, is that of strikes on Israelis by Palestinian missiles. South Sudan: “We shall represent the Union at the birth of a new country”, she said, adding that it will be clearly specified that they must do everything to ensure security. (L.G./L.C./LoC/transl.jl)