28/07/2008 | President
PACE President, Lluís Maria de Puig, today strongly condemned the double bombing in Istanbul last night, which according to first estimates left 16 dead and 154 injured. No cause in the world can justify such an odious act, carefully premeditated to kill innocent persons, he said. There is no place in society for terrorists, Mr de Puig continued. I am convinced that this opinion is shared, not just by the whole of Turkish society, but by all those who subscribe to the community of values represented by the Council of Europe.
28/07/2008 | President
PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig today expressed his deepest sadness and sorrow at the death of Lord Russell-Johnston, a former President of the Parliamentary Assembly from 1999 to 2002 and a member for twenty-three years, as well as leader of the Liberal Group from 1994 to 1999, and extended his condolences to his family. “It is a sad day for all defenders of justice, peace and humanity. He leaves a great void in the hearts of all Europeans who had the privilege of crossing his path. His passion for European politics and his sense of friendship will always remain”, Lluis Maria de Puig said. "We need moralpolitik, not realpolitik, was the message that guided him through his longstanding political career."
22/07/2008 | Monitoring
PACE co-rapporteurs on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Serbia, Charles Goerens (Luxembourg, ALDE) and Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), today congratulated the Serbian authorities on the arrest of the war criminal Radovan Karadžic. “The arrest of the Radovan Karadžic shortly after the arrest of another indictee Stojan Župljanin earlier in June this year confirms that the Serbian authorities are committed to honouring their commitment with regard to the co-operation with the ICTY” said Charles Goerens. “The arrest of Karadžic proves that the remaining indictees are within reach. It creates a momentum for further strengthening the co-operation with the Tribunal to apprehend and bring to justice quickly all remaining indictees” continued Andreas Gross.
22/07/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig this morning welcomed the arrest of the former political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic. "Now justice can at last be done. The memory of thousands of victims of the Srebrenica massacre, the siege of Sarajevo and many other atrocities can at last be honoured. I would like to pay sincere tribute to all these victims. This arrest sends out a clear, unequivocal signal of the determination of the Belgrade authorities to bind Serbia ever more closely to the European institutions. We are receiving this message loud and clear in Strasbourg, and I am sure Brussels will take account of this fact very practically and very quickly. This is a great day for the future of Serbia."
18/07/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig is to make an official visit to Armenia from 22 to 25 July to deepen co-operation between Armenia and the Assembly and to promote implementation of the Assembly’s Resolutions 1609 and 1620. He intends to assess, in particular, the credibility of the enquiry into the events on 1-2 March, and will urgently raise the issue of people detained in connection with these events.
16/07/2008 | Election observation
A two-member PACE post-electoral delegation to "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" has said it is encouraged by assurances that conclusions and recommendations made by the Assembly will "serve as guidelines" for the new Parliament in Skopje in its endeavours to overcome the problems that tarnished the 1 June parliamentary elections. But Mevlüt Çavušoglu (Turkey, EDG) and Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), speaking at the end of a two-day visit, also deplored the boycott of Parliament by a major Albanian party, which they said put that party's electorate at a disadvantage.
11/07/2008 | Election observation
Two PACE members are to undertake a post-electoral mission to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on 14-16 July 2008 to assess developments in the country following the recent problematic parliamentary elections. Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), who headed the PACE delegation observing the 1 June elections and also observed the re-runs on 15 June, will be accompanied by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC).
09/07/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig has ended a four-day official visit to Moldova with an appeal to the authorities to accelerate reforms and put in place a “democratic culture” to fulfil their promise to hold free and fair elections next year. In an address to the Moldovan Parliament yesterday, the President pledged the Assembly’s ongoing help – in particular through its monitoring procedure – with this process.
03/07/2008 | President
October’s Presidential election in Azerbaijan must demonstrate the country’s commitment to democratic reforms, according to PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig, speaking at the end of an official visit to the country (1-3 July 2008). The President also took note of the authorities’ commitment to put in place conditions which would enable the coming Presidential election to be free and democratic.
03/07/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today welcomed the freeing of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages with great pleasure and relief. “On behalf of the Assembly, I should like to convey to Ms Betancourt and her family our happiness, our friendship and our full solidarity after so many years in captivity. Her commitment, courage and dignity remain an example for the many hostages still held, and for all of us. Her release is a victory for freedom. I encourage the Colombian government to continue to make every effort to have all the hostages freed, and I again call on the FARC to release the many people they have been holding for much too long”.
01/07/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I am extremely preoccupied by the draft media law currently under examination by the Belarusian upper chamber of parliament” today said Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ADLE), PACE rapporteur on the situation in Belarus. “Once this legislation comes into force, it will restrict freedom of information in the country even further, especially when it comes to electronic media, and will extend the power of the authorities to interfere with media activities in a way which is contrary to European standards. What is more, even before its entry into force, the new draft law is bound to have a chilling effect of self-censorship on the media.
30/06/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig will be making an official visit to Azerbaijan from 1 to 3 July 2008. He is scheduled to meet, among others, the President of the Republic, Ilham Aliyev, the Speaker of the Milli Mejlis (Parliament), Ogtay Asadov, the Prime Minister, Artur Rasizade, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elmar Mammadyarov.