PALESTÍNA Á ÞINGI EVRÓPURÁÐSINS
Á þingi Evrópuráðsins, sem nú stendur yfir í Strasbourg, fór fram lífleg umræða um Palestínu í gær. Umræðan var í tilefni þess að Evrópuráðið hefur tekið upp samstarf við palestínsk stjórnvöld um eflingu lýðræðis og réttarríkis í Palestínu. Evrópuráðið samþykkti ályktun þar sem fagnað er þeim skrefum sem stigin hafa verið í þessa veru en að vænst sé frekari aðgerða því enn sé þörf á átaki til að styrkja réttarríkið í Palestínu.
Ég lýsti því hvernig Íslendingar hefðu á undanförnum árum staðið í farabroddi í stuðningi við Palestínumenn í sjálfstæðisbaráttu þeirra. Þannig hefðu Íslendingar samhljóða samþykkt á Alþingi viðurkenningu á fullvalda og sjálfstæðri Palestínu og jafnframt verið eina vestræna ríkið sem stóð að tillögu um að Palestína fengi aukin réttindi á vettvangi Sameinuðu þjóðanna. Ég minntist þess þegar fyrrverandi utanríkisráðherra, Össur Skarphéðinsson, neitaði að taka á móti ráðherra frá Ísrael sem vildi ná fundi hans til að „leiðrétta" íslensku ríkisstjórnina eftir að hernaðarofbeldið á Gaza var fordæmt af Íslands hálfu.
Hér er umræðuplaggið sem var til umræðu
Ræða mín á þingi Evópuráðsins:
Evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect to the Palestinian National Council
I would like to start by expressing my appreciation for this excellent report. It is concise, informative, balanced in its assessment and above all it is a living ducument, not an arm-chair exercise but with guidelines on how to proceed into the future.
The report assesses progress being made after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe granted the Palestinian National Council status as partner for demcoracy. On the whole the evaluation is very positive, progress has been made but at the same time we are urged to encourage Palestininan authorities to accelerate the implementation of the process of reform and to address remaining concerns with regard to the rule of law and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in line with the political commitments that fall under the partnership.
I am a representative from Iceland and in recent years my country has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian People against the oppression by Israel.
I had the privilege to sit in a government that was in power between 2009 and 2013, that never wavered in its full support for the sovereignty and freedom of the Palestinian people.
Only a few days after our government was formed, early in 2009 when Gaza was being mercilessly attacked by the Israelis, our Foreign Minister, on Iceland´s behalf, issued a strong declaration condemning the behaviour of the Isaelis. When Israel subsequently announced it was sending a Minister to Iceland to „correct" the views of the Icelandic government our Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Israeli Minister as a tourist, but declined to meet her.
He also became one of very few Foreign Ministers from Western-Europe who visited Gaza and the West Bank - and symbolically left Israel out to emphasize the support and understanding of the Icelandic people to Palestine.
Our government supported the Palestinian application to become a member of Unesco, and at the General Assembly of the UN several times declared its support for the sovereignty of free Palestine based on the ´67 borders.
Our government proposed to our Parliament that Iceland formally acknowledge the sovereignty of Palestine, and I am proud of the fact that it was agreed in Althingi, our parliament, without a single opposing vote.
That, if anything, underscores how widespread the support of the Icelandic people is to Palestine. It was not an easy decision to make in opposition to powerful allies, but our government stood by the principle that every nation should have the right to decide her own future.
I am proud of the fact, that subsequently, Iceland, during the tenure of the government I was a member of, became the only western country to co-sponsor the proposal at the United Nations General Assembly proposing to upgrade the status of Palestine to a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations.
I strongly recommend and endorse this resolution.
Sjá:
http://www.visir.is/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014140128792
http://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2014/01/29/raeddi_studning_islands_vid_palestinu