08/11/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today "deeply deplored" the shelling of the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun by the Israeli Army. "Even by the standards of violence in the Middle East, this attack – in which women and children died while they slept – was profoundly shocking. I deeply deplore this act, and call on the Israeli Government to refrain from such inhumane actions in the future." The President also said an investigation was "absolutely necessary" and appealed to Palestinian leaders not to fall into the trap of retaliation.
06/11/2006 | President
René van der Linden is due to meet Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Speaker of the National Council Pavol Paska and Foreign Minister Jan Kubis, as well as representatives of political groups in the parliament. Subjects for discussion include the fight against extremism and intolerance and relations between the Council of Europe and the EU.
05/11/2006 | President
"The crimes committed by Saddam Hussein are appalling, and it is right that he be judged and punished for them," said PACE President Rene van der Linden, reacting to the verdict in his trial. "But today’s sentence of the death penalty sends a dangerous message to the region: that the new Iraq is to be built on vengeance rather than respect for fundamental human values. Iraq today does not need more death. Capital punishment is wrong – even for the worst crimes – and I appeal to the Iraqi authorities not to carry out this sentence."
27/10/2006 | President
René van der Linden will participate in the quadripartite meeting between the Council of Europe and the European Union, a high-level co-ordination meeting. Items on the agenda include co-operation between the Council of Europe and the EU, follow-up to Mr Juncker's report on co-operation between the two institutions, the roles of the Council and the EU in defending human rights and the development of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.
26/10/2006 | President
The French draft law on Armenian genocide does not reflect the principle of freedom of speech, said PACE President René van der Linden following a meeting today with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül. "This draft law will not help to build a positive climate for relations between Turkey and France or Turkey and the EU," he said, adding that in general he was not in favour of drafting legislation on questions of history or memory. However the President added that Turkish criticism of the lack of freedom of speech shown by the French draft law could also be "self-reflected" as regards the situation in Turkey, a reference to Article 301 of the Turkish penal code.
24/10/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will make a working visit to Turkey from 25 to 29 October 2006. In Ankara, at meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, he is due to discuss Turkey-Council of Europe relations and raise the issue of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations. The President will also attend a round table discussion with legal and human rights experts at Bilgi University, Istanbul, on Friday 27. The following day he will lay a wreath at the Gallipoli War Memorial and visit the war graves there, as well as meet a delegation from the Çanakkale Provincial Council.
18/10/2006 | President
“Journalistic freedom being one of the pillars of democracy, state authorities are responsible not only for the legal framework for journalism, but also for the general climate in which journalists are working. They must create conditions for journalists to work freely and independently,” said PACE President René van der Linden, at the opening of the Forum for the Future of Democracy in Moscow, which is examining the role of political parties in democracy-building.
18/10/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today reacted to President George W. Bush’s signature into law of the Military Commissions Act, a bill that sets standards for the interrogation and prosecution of foreign terror suspects held by the US. “If the law aims to enshrine defendants' human rights, it still restricts their right to challenge their detention. As an observer state to the Council of Europe, the United States should send a strong message to the world by demonstrating that terrorism can be overcome by lawful means. As our Assembly has previously requested, the US authorities should conduct their fight against terrorism in conformity with international human rights norms and the rule of law. It should also align its definitions of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment with the definition used by the United Nations Committee against Torture”, he said.
10/10/2006 | President
”Capital punishment must be totally removed in all countries which strive to uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights,” René van der Linden said today. “The death penalty has been abolished in all our member states, with just one exception, the Russian Federation”. René van der Linden urged the Russian authorities to show, vis-à-vis public opinion in their country, the same determination and persuasiveness displayed by the other Council of Europe member states, which had the political will and courage to abolish the death penalty despite the potential unpopularity of the measure.
28/09/2006 | President
“It is time to deliver on the ambitious EU initiative to create a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area by 2010, and find the appropriate arrangements to extend the trade area to cover agricultural trade,” said PACE President René van der Linden today, opening the 2nd Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture in Strasbourg, held on 28 September at the Council of Europe Hemicycle and the following day at the European Parliament. He acknowledged that neither CAP reform nor the Doha trade round had found a solution to agricultural trade with the Mediterranean region and that there was still an “economic gap” between it and Europe which was triggering illegal immigration.
26/09/2006 | President
René van der Linden, PACE President,has expressed support for the EU Commission’s recommendation today that two Council of Europe member states - Bulgaria and Romania - accede to the EU on 1 January 2007 under several strict conditions. “It was important not to lose the political momentum for accession, even if close scrutiny of several outstanding issues is deemed necessary,” he said.
25/09/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today warmly welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s meeting at the Pope's residence near Rome with envoys from Muslim nations. “Mutual respect and commitment to defend and promote our common fundamental human values are a pre-condition for inter-religious and intercultural dialogue. I’m convinced that this meeting helped not only to overcome past misunderstandings, but also to set this important dialogue on the right track,” René van der Linden said. “It is my firm belief that, in Europe, the Council of Europe and its Assembly are the best placed to provide an ideal and natural forum for inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue”, he said.