25/09/2006 | President
PACE President, René van der Linden, made today the following statement: “I am saddened and disappointed by the executions of three men that took place in Sulawesi on Friday. Whatever their crimes, the death penalty is never justice. What is needed in Indonesia is not more death – which, as we have seen in recent days, only contributes to the violence – but a sincere dialogue between the religions.” No executions are carried out within the 46 nations of the Council of Europe.
15/09/2006 | President
At the end of a three-day visit to Kazakhstan, PACE President René van der Linden has expressed his recognition of the important role being played by Kazakhstan in the Central Asian region thanks to its stability and openness to the outside world, including Europe. "I strongly encourage the government's willingness to engage with European organisations, and particularly appreciate the authorities' desire to co-operate with the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly," he said.
13/09/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today strongly condemned the bomb attack at a bus stop in the southeast Turkish city of Diyarbakir that has caused the death of 11 people and injured at least 13 others. “I wish to extend my condolences, on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly, to the families of the victims.
13/09/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today called for “a new alliance between the secular and the sacred”, based on fundamental values common to both religion and democracy, in order to face the challenges of globalisation, migration and terrorism. Addressing participants at the Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, Kazakhstan – which included representatives of the Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Shinto, Taoist and Hindu faiths – the President called on religious leaders to present “a united front” based on the common values of peace, justice, equality, tolerance and respect.
12/09/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will visit Kazakhstan from 13 to 15 September 2006, during which he will focus on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, as well as promoting Council of Europe values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law at a series of high-level meetings. On Wednesday 13 September the President is due to address the Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, on which occasion he will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of the main religions of Kazakhstan.
11/09/2006 | President
"On this sad day, on behalf of the victims of 9/11 and of other atrocities since, I want to make an appeal on behalf of one neglected asset in the long battle against terrorism: human understanding," said PACE President René van der Linden, recalling the need to win hearts and minds. He also again called for this fight to be carried out "within the tried and tested framework of international and human rights law - or it will not make us safer".
07/09/2006 | President
Reacting to yesterday’s statement admitting the existence of secret CIA prisons, PACE President René van der Linden said today that such methods would, in the long term, make us less safe, not more. “Kidnapping people and torturing them in secret - however tempting the short-term gain may appear to be - is what criminals do, not democratic governments. In the long term, such practices create more terrorists and undermine the values we are fighting for. Europe will have no part in such a degrading system.” The admission had vindicated the the work of PACE and its rapporteur Dick Marty, the President said.
07/09/2006 | President
In his speech at an international conference on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue in Nizhniy Novgorod (7 and 8 September) Council of Europe Parliamentary (PACE) President René van der Linden today called for churches and other confessional organisations to receive an official status with the Council of Europe. “There is absolutely no reason why they should not officially have a status similar to that which has been granted to non-governmental organisations, taking into account their specificities,” he said.
05/09/2006 | President
PACE President René van der Linden today expressed his great surprise at a Dutch MP's proposal to boycott Wednesday's soccer match between the Netherlands and Belarus as a means of fighting dictatorship in Belarus. The soccer field was not a place for conducting politics, said Mr van der Linden. "Mixing politics and sport means taking a wrong and potentially dangerous path. A Dutch boycott of the soccer match with Belarus would represent a big step backwards and would ultimately do more harm than good to the citizens of Belarus," he said.
04/09/2006 | President
Following the bomb blast that hit the Turkish region of Van last night, killing at least two people and injuring about twenty, PACE President conveyed his sympathies to the families of the victims and expressed his solidarity with all those injured or affected. He strongly condemned the attack. “There is still no evidence on the identity of the perpetrators, but whoever the authors are, they are nothing but criminals moved by the sole aim of killing innocent people,” he said.
31/08/2006 | President
Strasbourg, 31.08.2006 - “New record level arrivals of sub-Saharan migrants on the Canary Isles require European responses and solutions,” PACE President said today in response to news that over 19,000 sub-Saharan migrants had reached the shores of the Canary Isles this year. “Spain, along with Italy, Malta and other Mediterranean countries are in the front line of mass arrivals, but these countries are merely stepping stones for the rest of Europe,” he said.
31/08/2006 | President
René van der Linden today spoke out against xenophobia and intolerance in Slovakia, following the recent violent attack on a young ethnic-Hungarian woman.“Xenophobia and intolerance are incompatible with the basic values of democracy and represent a continuing threat to peace and stability throughout Europe,” said Mr van der Linden. “Democratic politicians must take a stand against the use of racist or xenophobic discourse in politics, which contributes to a climate of violence by legitimising hatred and intolerance.”