15/01/2008 | President
"I praise the strong commitment of the Turkish authorities to continuing democratic reforms," declared PACE President René van der Linden, at the end of his official visit to Turkey (Ankara and Konya) from 13 to 15 January 2008. "The parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 confirmed the stability of Turkish democracy and resulted in a more pluralistic and representative Parliament with an increased participation of women and MPs from the South-East of Turkey," said the President.
11/01/2008 | President
PACE President René van der Linden will pay an official visit to Turkey from 13 to 16 January 2008 and will meet the country’s most senior authorities, in particular the President of the Republic, Abdullah Gül, and the President of the Grand National Assembly, Köksal Toptan. He is also due to meet the State Minister for Economic Affairs, Mehmet Simsek, the Chair of the EU Harmonisation Committee, Yasar Yakis, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Murat Mercan, and the Governor and the Mayor of Konya.
11/01/2008 | Session
The report which Dick Marty will present to the PACE questioning the fairness of UN and EU blacklists and the one to be presented by Lord Russell-Johnston on developments as regards the future status of Kosovo will be the focus of debates to be held by the PACE at its forthcoming winter session (21-25 January 2008). Another highlight of the session will be the debate on the disappearance of newborn babies for illegal adoption in Europe.
10/01/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Josette Durrieu (France, SOC) will be making a fact-finding visit to Morocco from 13 to 15 January 2008 in connection with preparation of her report for the next PACE session (21 to 25 January) on strengthening co-operation with the Maghreb countries. She will be meeting the country's senior authorities, in particular the Prime Minister, Abbas El Fassi, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mustapha Mansouri, to discuss the question of human rights and interfaith dialogue.
06/01/2008 | Election observation
While the 5 January presidential election in Georgia was in essence consistent with most international standards for democratic elections, significant challenges were revealed which need to be addressed urgently, the International Election Observation Mission concluded in a joint preliminary statement today. Mátyás Eörsi, the Head of the PACE delegation, said: "This election, although clearly not perfect, enabled the Georgian people to give a democratic response to the recent political crisis. Georgians should be congratulated for the commitment they showed on election day to democratic principles. Now it is up to the authorities to hear our criticisms and urgently respond to the significant shortcomings noted. For the sake of the stability of the country I call upon all actors to conclude this election process in a manner that ensures the legitimacy in they eyes of Georgian people."
04/01/2008 | President
PACE President René van der Linden condemned the terrorist attack in Diyarbakir yesterday, which killed four people and injured scores of others. “I extend my sincere condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims and injured. This attack marks a tragic return to violence in the southeastern part of Turkey. Even though the perpetrators and their masters have not yet been identified, it is clear that such acts will neither contribute to a climate of dialogue, nor to a solution of remaining problems, on which recent years have seen substantial progress".
02/01/2008 | President
PACE President René van der Linden on 27 December condemned the shameful assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. "This terrorist act is a clear attack on democratic elections in Pakistan. I extend my sincere condolences to the family of Mrs Bhutto and the people of Pakistan. Her assassination reminds us all that terrorism must be combated internationally by establishing international political and legal co-operation against terrorists while respecting the rule of law and fighting the causes of terrorism", Mr van der Linden said.
21/12/2007 | President
Opposition must not be considered as an enemy, but as an integral part of every democratic society,” declared René van der Linden, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), during his visit to Moscow from 19 to 21 December 2007. Following the critical evaluation by PACE observers of the recent parliamentary elections, the PACE President urged the Russian authorities to take seriously into consideration the conclusions and recommendations of the observers and make substantial improvements before the forthcoming presidential elections, in particular as regards the registration of candidates and fair access of all candidates to the media. PACE intends to observe these elections and I expect that PACE will be invited, Mr van der Linden added.
21/12/2007 | Election observation
A 28 member PACE delegation led by Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE) will observe the presidential elections on Saturday 5 January 2008 in Georgia alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament and the OSCE-ODIHR. The members of the delegation will meet with the different candidates running for the election, as well as with representatives of the Central Electoral Commission, NGOs and the media, before traveling to the different areas of the country to observe the conduct of the ballot on polling day. (Picture: tblisi.co.uk)
20/12/2007 | Culture, Science, Education and Media
Viewing the 1,000-square-metre 19th century “Bergisel Panorama” in the rotunda built for it in central Innsbruck is an important part of the experience, according to PACE's general rapporteur on cultural heritage. Eddie O’Hara (United Kingdom, SOC) was invited to look into the question following concerns expressed over the possible relocation of the panorama, which commemorates the third battle in 1809 between Tyrolean and united Napoleonic forces.
20/12/2007 | Monitoring
There should be “more balanced access” to public television in Armenia for all the candidates in the forthcoming presidential election, and the use of administrative pressure and police intimidation are “issues of concern”, according to PACE monitoring co-rapporteur Georges Colombier (France, EPP/CD). In a statement on his recent visit to the country, made public yesterday, Mr Colombier also said the new Electoral Code, with recent amendments, was a good basis for conducting free and fair elections “if applied properly and in good faith”.
19/12/2007 | President
“The world community – as embodied by the UN General Assembly – has spoken: nobody should be put to death as a legal sanction,” said PACE President René van der Linden, reacting to yesterday’s vote calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. “This has been the position of Greater Europe for some years now, and I am happy that the rest of the globe is moving in this direction. The Italian authorities are to be congratulated for their zeal in bringing this vote about.”