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Haupt arrow newsitems arrow EUROCORPS Chief Buchsenschmidt to EuroFora: EU Defense doesn't lack Means, but needs Political Will

EUROCORPS Chief Buchsenschmidt to EuroFora: EU Defense doesn't lack Means, but needs Political Will

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Dienstag, 25 November 2014

 

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    *Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Europeans don't lack Today material, human and institutional means to develop a more Autonomous Defense policy, complementary and, if need be, independent from NATO, despite various shortcomings, but it's mainly an issue of collective Political Will inside the EU, replied, in substance, to relevant "EuroFora"s Questions, the experienced Chief of EUROCORPS, Commander General Guy Buchsenschmidt from Belgium, who heads the European Force able to serve as Headquarters of Multi-modal, Land - Air - Sea, Defense - Security Operations, based in Strasbourg, with 6 full Member Countries (France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and soon also Poland), as well as  several "Liaison Officers" from various other Countries, that EU Parliament has repeatedly supported in its Resolutions on EU's CFSP.

 


    - Indeed, particularly since the entry into force, from 2010, of EU's Lisbon Treaty which opens possibilities for Reinforced Cooperations by certain EU Member Countries in various concrete areas of activities, the current problem of the lack of a Consensus among all the 28 EU Member States for the development of a European common Defense and Security policy, does not exist no agreed with "EuroFora" Buchsenschmidt, who, indeed, sees such a possibility only between a smaller number of EU Countries willing to advance forward and meet the growing Challenges of Today and of the foreseable Future.

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    EUROCORPS' Chief, who heads for 2 Years this unique Organisation, which has already been used to Head the Staff Officers of important MultiNational Forces, f.ex. at Kosovo and even in Afghanistan, etc., was invited as Key-note Speaker of a Conference organized by the "PanEuropa" Think Tank at EU Parliament this afternoon, with Moderator the experienced, mainstream Austrian MEP Paul Rubig, and he participation also of former Chairman of the Biggest EU Parliament's Political group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, and current President of the EPP Party, headquartered in Brussels, recently elected also as at the Presidence even of the International Democratic Party, Joseph Daul from Strasbourg.


     - Europeans should be prepared to become more "Autonomous" in Defense, since the USA are turning the focus of their attention towards other regions of the World, and given that we already have, despite delays, an important potential of capacities, in material and know-how in Europe, which could help us to become more Free to move in the Future, Buchsenschmidt added on this occasion.


    - While regretting,; however, a recent trend to include Defense among the wider Budget Restrictions since the recent Global Crisis, despite the emergence even of New Challenges, (such as the ISIS, etc), Lietenant-General Buchsenschmidt, who doesn't find neither feasible, nor necessary, to create a fully-fledged "European Army" as such at all, nevertheless strongly believes that Europeans already have the means Today to organise an efficient Defense-Security Force, (competent both for Military and Civil Protection operations f.ex. against Natural or Man-made Catastrophes), mainly by pooling Together their assets under a Joint Command, where those EU Countries who wish to actively participate, should be able to do so, on the sole main condition of the existence of a common Political Will.


    During the debates, Buchsenschmidt had, however, to reply (even if briefly) even to Questions on both how to address Russian President Putin's propaganda on Ukraine, judged to be sometimes too efficient and influential, and whether EU (and USA) should forge a Coalition with Russia against growing Threats by Brutal Islamic Terrorists of ISIL's BeHeaders, that he handled, apparently, as diplomatically as a Military Chief could..

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    EUROCORPS, which is traditionaly used by EU Parliament for the official ceremonies involving Heads of State/Government, served also, Today Morning, in the Welcome ceremony for Pope Francis, during which, a Group of Soldiers from that MultiNational European Force, raised both EU's and Vatican's Flags, followed by the  respective Anthems.


    The Pope has repeatedly declared, on the occasion of the atrocious BeHeadings and Brutal Oppression against Christians and other Minorities in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic Extremist Terrorists of ISIL, that a reaction against "Unjust Aggression" would be Legitimate, but on the condition that it will be authorized by an Agreement of the International Community, i.e. mainly at the UNO.

 

(../..)



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(NDLR : Fast Translation from the Original in French. + "DraftNews", as already sent to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be published asap)


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ECHR's President to "EuroFora" on Journalists Gongadze and Adali murders : Principles must apply to all States, without discrimination.


+ ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression (See below).

 European Court of Human Rights' President, Jean-Paul Costa, questioned by "EuroFora" on Journalists' murders, as in Gongadze and Adali's cases etc., strongly stressed all CoE Member States' obligation to make efficient Investigations to find and punish those responsible, and underlined that ECHR's case-law's principles must apply to all without any discrimination.

His call was clearly supported by various Top MEPs who denounced a risk of "Double Standards" if some Journalists' murders are investigated, while others don't.

To avoid such risks, CoE's Parliamentary Assembly adopted a Resolution, on the occasion of Ukranian Journalist Gongadze's murder, "stressing", as a matter of general Principle, "the importance it attaches to the safety of Journalists and political activists, especially those linked to opposition groups, in ALL member states of the CoE". All "crimes against journalists and political activists must be investigated ... as a matter of priority, without political interference".

Costa was replying to "EuroFora"s question on the fact that, after CoE's Committee of Ministers, also CoE's Assembly had just adopted a Resolution on Gongadze murder case, based on an ECHR's judgement of 2005, asking a full Investigation from Ukraine, who has found and condemned  in 10 years of jail 2 executants, but not yet the instigators.

While nothing similar was yet done for dissident Turkish Cypriot Kutlu Adali's murder, with 5 bullets shot at his head out of his Family's home in the territories of Cyprus occupied by Ankara's army, despite another ECHR's judgement of the same year 2005, and despite Turkey's claim that nobody was found among those responsible for the murder, and that there was nothing more to do..

In order to be credible and efficient, CoE's mechanisms shouldn't find a way to at least ask for full investigations of all Journalists' murders anywhere they might be committed, without exceptions ?

adali_gongadze


- "On the larger question that you raised, I'd like to say, since we are in a period of stock-taking on ECHR's 50 Years, that the Court's case-law developed certain concepts ....such as the Positive obligations of States, part of which are also the procedural obligations", started to reply ECHR's President.

 - "Whenever Journalists, Lawyers, Defenders of Human Rights, or even simple Citizens are murdered, the States are held responsible, not only if its their own security forces' agents who committed these murders, but also if they didn't make sufficiently substantial and efficient Investigations", he stressed.

- "I want to strongly underline that we (ECHR) have found in many cases numerous violations of Articles 2 and 3 against States, ....(about) murders or torture, ...because they didn't make enough Investigations in order to try to find and punish those responsible".

- "We (ECHR) do that vis-a-vis all 47 (CoE) Member States, without any discrimination".

"Naturally, the circumstances in each particular case may be differend, and we can't ommit to apply the rules of proof, or the rules of criminal procedure".

"But we try, by all means, to apply these principles of our case-law, to all States", he concluded.

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      Costa's call was strongly supported by several Top CoE MEPs, from various Political areas


- "To investigate the murder of one Journalist, and not of another, looks like Double Standards", denounced the President of EuroLeft Group in CoE's Assembly, Dutch MEP Tiny Cox.  

- "What is the reason ? Politics or specificity of a case ? Of course, if Cyprus and Turkey are involved, it's always a Political case"..

- "Murders of Journalists should always be fully investigated, because killing Journalists is not only killing persons, but also killing Free Press".  "We (CoE's Assembly) should do our outmost to help People who are working on Free Press and they are under threat or murdered".

Because for Free Politics, Free Press is a pre-requisitive : Parliamentarians  cannot  function without a Free Press. Not investigating, is not protecting ourselves".

So we should investigate all Journalists' murders : We are talking about Gongadze, about the Cypriot man (Adali), about the Journalist murdered in Moscow one week ago, etc", Cox concluded

- "CoE can' look at these cases differently. CoE can't wear Blinckers  !".
- "If the one is investigated, so has to be also the other. Why there wasn't full investigation ? Why's that ?", wondered British  Socialist MEP, Alan Meale.

- "A good idea" would be to "make a Motion for Resolution", and "join all Journalists' murders. Adali and Gongadze etc", said to "EuroFora" EU Parliament Political affairs Committee's President, Goran Lindbland, ChristianDemocrat MEP from Sweden.


(See also earlier News at "EuroFora" on similar issues).
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ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression :

    Almost Half of condemnations by ECHR for violations of Freedom of Expression in 2008, concern Turkey : 20 out of a total of 48 for all CoE's Member States.

    Russia, Poland, France and Moldova were condemned only 3 times. Romania, Greece, Portugal, 2 times, and the other CoE Member States only 1 time, or none.
--------------------
    During the last Decade : 1998 - 2008, Turkey was condemned for violating Freedom of Expression in ..169 cases, while Austria only in 24.

    France and Moldova in 14 and 13, respectively, closely followed by Russia and Poland with 11 and 10, respectively. The rest of CoE Member States had less than ten condemnations.    
    

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