Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Two perspectives from inside the Union

Balazs Bekasi | 22.03.2003 05:19

Some people thinks so radical the quastions of the wolrd order. Here is an impressive thougth on the european solidarity and spirit. With my comment from Hungary.

From: Liberal International
Date: 17 March 2003
Subject: ELDR Leader Graham Watson on Iraq

Speaking at an emergency debate on Iraq at the Liberal Democrats Conference in Torquay, UK, on 15 March 2003, Graham Watson MEP, Leader of the ELDR Group said:

"Liberal Democrats in Europe place immense value on Europe's relations with the USA. Our commitment to shared values, our economic and cultural ties, reflected in our military alliance, are things we hold dear. We shared America's pain at the events of 11 September 2001, and not simply because Europeans were killed in the terrorist attacks. Yet we do not share the current U.S. President's view that war against Iraq is justified at present, any more than we share the moral certainty of the man in charge in Downing Street."

"Our question to George Bush and Tony Blair is this. Would not the cost of continued vigilance, resilience and patience be less, far less, than the cost of war and reconstruction? ../..

If our leaders decide to go to war without the backing of the United Nations and in the face of opposition from the international community it will indeed be a recipe for regime change: not just in Baghdad, but also in London, Madrid and Washington DC.

Never has the need been greater for a common foreign and security policy for the European Union.

The EU is a union of small states. The problem is that while the smaller among them recognise that they are small and therefore see the need to work together, the others do not. Diplomacy is a drug: its pomp is addictive, be it the private jets, the military salutes or the engraved fountain pens. European countries need to kick the habit.

The EU is already a super-power. We are the largest aid donor to Palestine: the largest aid donor to Iraq; we have the largest single market in the world, with a currency to rival the dollar, and a single trade policy which allows us to punch above our weight in trade negotiations. If these attributes were combined in a single foreign policy and a credible defence policy our world view would prevail - at the International Criminal Court, in the chemical and biological weapons conventions and over Iraq.

The battle at the UN Security Council is a struggle about the exercise of American power. Europe's troubled tribalism means that Washington wins. Despite having four seats on the security council, the EU is powerless. If we had but one vote, France, Germany, Britain and Spain would have to agree. And there's much we agree on: for example, that the UN charter gives a member no right to change the regime of another country and no right to wage war on the basis of a possible future threat. Europe does not need to defend the UN so much as the concept of world order laid down in the UN Charter.

To challenge that world order at a time when the tectonic plates of the world's monotheistic religions are rubbing up against each other is to play with fire among powder kegs."

comment:

So I it is so beauty, but after 2ooo Peter Medgyessy led hungarian administration is also talking "we are not support th US led war." But there is some fancy thing in the air for long time ago. Thats all started in Taszar, where was iraqi regugee trained to help funcionating the postsaddam era, than our politicans after when US airplanes flougth cross in the air they fall out our role and about a week the said that is couldnt been happend. But yesterday they found an 1997 govern resolution and said it is legal. During 92 percent of the resident are no support that war. Sadly now not topic the UN reso, but it was a strong signal to shows new axis of international realtionships, like France-Russia-China. And what about the signers of the letter of eights? We - as the high policy suggest from the media - we support that madness. Its makes me so said. That can be happend in a young democracy.

Balazs Bekasi
- e-mail: icsoul82@hotmail.com
- Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/utopia_online/

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech