[autom.vertaling] De Arabische Liga wil verzekering dat " cartoons" niet opnieuw zal gebeuren (en)

Arab League secretary-general Amre Moussa called for the nuclear disarmament of Israel, continued EU funding of the Palestinian Authority and the prevention of any future publications disrespectful of Islam when he appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

In his introductory speech, Mr Moussa, who is a former Egyptian Foreign Minister, spoke about the cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed, saying that freedom of expression should be exercised responsibly and should therefore " not touch the sacred creed of various people. We expect you to be with us on this." He warned that on both sides extremists are "pouring oil on the fire to ensure a clash of civilisations".

When asked by José Salafranca (EPP-ED, ES) to condemn the violence in reaction to these cartoons, by Poul Rasmussen (PES, DK) to send a clear signal to the whole Arab world that the violence should stop and by Simon Coveney (EPP-ED, IRL) to explain in the Arab world that the cartoons were not a message from the EU to the Arab world but an editorial decision by a minor newspaper in one EU country, Mr Moussa said that every action will have its reaction and that Muslims should not be taken lightly. "No-one will accept (this lack of respect); not fanatics, or moderates or even secularists." He went on to say that such insults to Islam must not happen again: "It is your duty to prevent any recurrences."

The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, DE), stated that EU countries are free societies where you cannot control individuals to prevent this from happening again. "In your countries you cannot do this either with regard to Christian symbols. But you can avoid individuals being used for state purposes." Ana Gomes (PES, PT) said she found the cartoons outrageous but argued that they were not a subject to be dealt with by the UN or any other secular forum.

Mr Moussa called on the EU to continue funding to the Palestinian Authority, saying that Hamas had won a parliamentary majority through fair and democratic elections. "Do you want to lure Hamas into your ranks, or push them into rigid positions?" Mr Moussa asked. Replying to Véronique de Keyser (PES, BE), Pasqualina Napoletano (PES, IT) and other MEPs who said that Hamas should renounce violence, respect the Road Map and recognise the state of Israel, Mr Moussa said he was not in favour of setting any preconditions to continued aid. "This is not money for ministers to enjoy life, but for Palestinians so that they can eat and send their children to school", he stressed. He said the Palestinians were not solely responsible for their dire economic situation, but were victims of a foreign occupation who were now having their money "sequestrated" by Israel. He also felt that Israel should be asked to recognise the Palestinian state. He called on the EU to demand more vigorously that Israel end the construction of settlements and the building of the separation wall. "Why do you want to set preconditions on one side and keep total silence regarding the other side?" he asked. Luisa Morgantini (EUL/NGL, IT) supported this position, saying that Hamas had, after all, abstained from any suicide attacks since July 2004.

On Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Moussa said he was in favour of the Middle East being a zone free from nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. But, he warned, " this should also apply to Israel. If one country possesses nuclear weapons, there will be a nuclear arms race in the region in less than five years." This would pose a major threat to the Mediterranean and to the EU. Mr Moussa hoped that the Russian proposal would offer a chance for a solution, but stressed that any party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty has "the inherent right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes".

22/02/2006

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Chair: Elmar Brok (EPP-ED)