Our chance to reshape Europe
The war in Iraq, the transatlantic war of words before and after that war and the current stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have underlined Europe’s weakness on the world stage.
Internal differences have revealed a divided entity with no hope of speaking with one voice on international issues.
Ireland also faces the challenge of defining its role in global affairs and the recent launch by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of his party policy on neutrality should open a long overdue debate without the hysteria that has surrounded one referendum after another on this issue.
The slaughter that accompanied the break-up of the former Yugoslavia on the doorstep of the EU revived memories of the First and Second World Wars and yet no real action was taken to stop it by countries which had suffered at the hands of the fascists 50 years earlier.
The deafening silence of the EU was broken only to convene meaningless summits and issue statements of regret while the slaughter continued.
These were merely exercises in clearing the consciences of weak European leaders before they turned their faces to the cameras for the usual EU family portrait.
How many more Mugabes will we watch pillage and punish their countries before heading to a state dinner in Paris? How many more colonial conquests like Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine?
How many more democratically elected leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma will be imprisoned by dictators before we say ‘enough’?
We in Europe are acutely aware of the importance of regional peace and stability. We know now that the political conscience of the US does not extend further than the price of a barrel of oil.
We also know that the UN has been dealt a massive blow by the US and Britain and is in need of radical reform in order to guarantee its survival.
As the EU sets off on a new journey with 10 additional members we need one voice to speak up for those who are persecuted, colonised and conquered, as well as acting to protect the innocent and restore order in conflict situations.
We cannot have a repeat of Srebrenica, where Bosnian Serbs murdered 7,000 Muslims, mainly men and boys, while Dutch UN peacekeepers looked on because their government, like those of all the other EU states, refused to act.
The blood of Srebrenica, Vukovar, Sarajevo and the other massacre sites of the Yugoslav war will never be washed from the hands of those who perpetrated the slaughter and the conscience of Europe will only be cleared when we determine that this must never again happen.
As a nation we must take a hard look at our neutrality policy. Let’s spell out our attitude to dictatorial regimes and aggressive states and show that the greater EU will fight for and defend what is right.
Enda Kenny’s policy initiative is a welcome beginning to the great debate that should precede our EU presidency next year.
Patrick O’Donovan,
Churchtown Road,
Newcastle West,
Co. Limerick
