22/04/2004 | President
Assembly President said he deplored the confirmation of the conviction of Leyla Zana and three other former parliamentarians by the Ankara state security court as this conviction was to a large extent based on an unjustified interference with the applicants’ freedom to discuss issues of public concern. Mr Schieder regretted the time it had taken to have the criminal procedure against them re-opened following the Strasbourg Court’s judgment in 2001 which found the original trial to be unfair (Sadak, Zana, Dilce and Dogan judgment). He deplored the fact that despite repeated requests by the Parliamentary Assembly, the execution of the original prison sentence imposed had not been suspended and the applicants had therefore remained in prison.
19/04/2004 | President
Peter Schieder made the following statement today: “Once again, the Government of Israel has shown its contempt for the rule of law by carrying out the extra-judicial killing of an alleged terrorist in the territories it has occupied since 1967. I condemn the assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. This is not self-defence but an invitation to further violence, which cannot be in Israel’s interest. I appeal to the Israeli Knesset, which enjoys observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to do everything in its power to ensure that the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which are the hallmarks of civilised society in general and of the Council of Europe in particular, are observed by the Israeli Government in its relations with the Palestinians.”
16/04/2004 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder made the following statement today: “Cyprus is approaching a crucial moment in its history. On 24 April 2004, Cypriots are invited to vote on the Annan Plan in simultaneous referenda. A “Yes” vote in both communities will put an end to the division of the island and bring a united Cyprus into the European Union. A victory for the “Noes” in either part of Cyprus, or a postponement of the referendum, will mean that only the Greek Cypriots join the EU on 1 May. The news from Cyprus is conflicting.
14/04/2004 | President
On 13 April, President Peter Schieder wrote to the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Arthur Baghdasaryan, asking for detailed information on recent events in Armenia, including the disruption of a regular session of parliament. In his letter he expressed great concern over arrests of opposition leaders, reportedly including a member of the Armenian delegation to the Assembly, Shavarsh Kocharyan, and people attending opposition rallies, as well as over alleged ill-treatment of the media. Armenia has recently made considerable efforts to honour the obligations and commitments it undertook on joining the Council of Europe. But you are also aware of our concerns about the remaining shortcomings and the Assembly’s decision in January this year not to end the current monitoring procedure until further progress has been made in this respect, Peter Schieder says in his letter.
05/04/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder today called on all Cypriots to seize the historic opportunity of the 24 April referendum to reunite the divided island of Cyprus before it joins the EU on 1 May. He urged the leaders of both communities, as well as the Greek and Turkish governments, to act with the utmost responsibility and rally all Cypriots in support of the revised UN plan. Peter Schieder expressed his full support for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s efforts. “This is an example of the important role the UN can play in conflict resolution,” he said.
25/03/2004 | President
Assembly President Peter Schieder today urged the Georgian authorities to act with the utmost responsibility and restraint in order to ensure the peaceful conduct of the 28 March parliamentary elections. As regards Adjara, he said it was important to implement the recent agreement signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Head of the Adjarian Autonomy Aslan Abashidze, in good faith.
23/03/2004 | President
“I condemn the missile-targeted murder by Israel this morning of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin,” said Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder today. “Whatever the alleged crimes committed by Sheikh Yassin, the state of Israel has taken upon itself to act as an executioner in occupied territory under its protection. This is not the rule of law, nor is it human rights. It also violates our ban on the death penalty, which must be observed and applied by all states whose parliaments enjoy observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Making a martyr out of the spiritual leader of Hamas is not going to help the cause of peace in the Middle East,” said President Schieder. The Israeli Knesset has enjoyed observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1957.
19/03/2004 | President
“Just a few days ago, the Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights organised a hearing on the human rights situation in Kosovo. The meeting focused on ways to protect human rights of all citizens of Kosovo. Today, Serbian villages across Kosovo are in flames, and a raging mob is set to destroy orthodox churches as symbols of the Serbian presence in Kosovo. Their acts are disgraceful, but so is the absence of clear and unequivocal condemnation of the anti-Serb violence by the Kosovo Albanian leadership. Shifting the blame to the other side, and attempts to exploit the escalation of ethnic violence to further the political cause of the majority population, are unacceptable. Kosovo cannot build its future on the blood of innocent people and the ashes of their burned homes and churches."
18/03/2004 | President
“Seven days after the tragedy of Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Eugenia, the images of horror provoked by terrorist bombs are still on everyone’s mind. 11 March – and the more than two hundred victims savagely murdered on that day – will be forever engraved in the collective memory of Europe and the world. (…) The message we should draw from the tragedy of Madrid is that in the face of such horror our anger is human, normal and justified. I say anger, not hate. Anger can make us stronger, hate only weakens us. Anger may help us to win, but if we succumb to hate, we have already lost”, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder said today, speaking in Strasbourg at a conference marking the tenth anniversary of ECRI.
18/03/2004 | President
Assembly President made the following statement today: “The outbreak of violence in Kosovo, and its heavy human toll, has already been unanimously condemned by the international community. KFOR is sending additional troops to the province to prevent any further clashes and bloodshed. Meanwhile, in Belgrade, Nis and other cities across Serbia, protests provoked by the outbreak of violence, in some cases degenerated into a disgraceful display of ethnic hatred and vandalism. Two mosques have been burned, and a number of policemen and journalists have been brutally assaulted. While concern for the security of the Serbian population in Kosovo is justified, and shared by the international community as a whole, the events of last night have only aggravated the situation of the victims of ethnic violence in Kosovo. Again, I call on Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders to unconditionally condemn and do all in their power to stop all acts of violence, including those committed by members of their own ethnic group.”
16/03/2004 | President
“The UN Commission on Human Rights, meeting in Geneva from 15 March to 23 April, is due to consider a resolution put forward by Brazil on sexual orientation and human rights. The resolution is of great importance as it would be the first general statement opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation at the global level,” Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Peter Schieder stressed in an open letter published today.
12/03/2004 | President
In a letter sent to the Speakers of the two chambers of the Spanish Parliament, Luisa Fernanda Rudi and Juan José Lucas, Assembly President Peter Schieder firmly condemned the bomb attacks in Madrid: "We democrats all feel horror and anger at such a display of inhumanity and hatred. Nothing can ever justify those who defend terrorism," he said.