Brussels, 04/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The President of the United Left/Nordic Green Left group at the European Parliament, Francis Wurtz, has written to the High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, in advance of the latter's declaration to the EP plenary session on Tuesday afternoon on behalf of the European Union on the crisis in the Middle East. Mr Wurtz called on Mr Solana to not adopt the illegitimate and paralysing approach of various EU spokespeople who, no doubt as a result of serious pressure, had recommended taking an equidistant position on several occasions in the past few months between the Palestinian Authority and the Sharon government. While there has to be clear condemnation of course of the Palestinian attacks in Israel and those who ordered them had to be found and "neutralised", noted Mr Wurtz, can one really speak of equidistance between occupier and occupied, between a full state and a symbolic Authority, between targeted attacks and murders carried out by an army and the uncontrollable acts of a 'kamikazis', between a head of state supported and encouraged by the greatest power on the planet and a leader whose home is monitored and has been largely abandoned by the great powers in the world? Mr Wurtz asked how Europe was planning to react to the irresponsible and undignified way Mr Arafat was being treated? He asserted that the most convincing sing of Europe's desire to see Yasser Arafat's freedom to circulate and international recognition restored would be for the Council and Parliament to send him a joint invitation to visit them officially as soon as possible.
Mr Wurtz said he was convinced that Mr Solana would meet the growing hopes of probably the majority of EU citizens by pointing out a few essential truths failure to take account of which will make peace impossible. Most importantly, that the military occupation of the Palestinian territories must cease. Everything else depends on this unavoidable demand, including the future of Israel, its identity and its dignity, argued Mr Wurtz, noting that the Knesset President, Avraham Burg, had courageously stated that an occupying people ends up being changed and deformed under the burden of occupation. The UEL/NGL President added that Ariel Sharon seems so sure of impunity that he has no qualms about destroying infrastructure funded by the EU. Israel has signed an Association Agreement with the EU in which (as for all other partners) there is a clause where by the signatories commit themselves to respect human rights. Surely it is about time to explicitly remind them of this and demand that their dangerous and unacceptable decision to forge ahead regardless, noted Mr Wurtz (see Josep Piqué's letter to Shimon Peres below).
After the exchange of views with Javier Solana, the European Parliament will be adopting a concise and as targeted as possible resolution which will touch upon Israel's destruction of Palestinian infrastructure funded by the European Union.