Míssils eslovacs cap a Sri Lanka: nova vulneració del Codi de Conducta de la UE sobre Exportacions d’Armes
La venta de 10.000 míssils eslovacs a Sri Lanka ha provocat la reacció de la Campanya Contra el Comerç d’Armes (veure la noticia segons la BBC), així com un requeriment per part meva al Consell de la UE, en la meva condició de ponent del Parlament Europeu sobre l’Aplicació del Codi de Conducta de la UE, i d’una nota de premsa que adjunto a continuació i que està essent distribuïda per diversos mitjans eslovacs i la mateixa BBC. El cas ha provocat un cert soroll a Eslovàquia i porto tot el matí atenent mitjans de tota mena, sobretot eslovacs, interessant-se per l’assumpte (cosa que no passa tant quan la denuncia la faig sobre països com el Regne Unit, França o el mateix Estat Espanyol). Sigui com sigui el tema és prou preocupant com per què hi hagi una resposta clara en favor d’una rectificació de la mesura per part de les principals institucions europees:
PRESS RELEASE – Brussels, 15 April 2008
Arms sales: Greens/EFA condemn Slovakian arms deal with Sri Lanka
Commenting on news that Slovakia has signed a deal with the Sri Lankan government for the sale of 10,000 rockets (to be delivered Thursday this week), Green MEP Raül Romeva i Rueda, rapporteur on EU arms exports, said: (segueix…)
“I am shocked that Slovakia has signed a deal to sell arms to the Sri Lankan Government. There can be no reasonable doubt that such a sale violates several criteria of the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. Sri Lanka has been involved in a civil war for 25 years, in the course of which massive human rights abuses, in particular against civilians, have been committed by all parties involved.
Slovakia is a member of the European Union, and along with all other recent members it made a commitment to implement the Code in full. In the near future the EU is expected to adopt a common position on making the Code legally binding for all member states. However the Code has already been considered as politically binding since it first came into existence, now exactly 10 years ago.
It is very worrying that individual member states continue to authorise commercial military contracts without taking the Code into account, without consulting other member states and without informing the European Parliament. I will question the Council of the European Union on this issue and will not hesitate to demand a full explanation from both Slovakia and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brussels.”
Foto: Forces Armades Srilankeses. Font: AP/BBC