Debate: Statements by the President
Date: MONDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Roberta Metsola
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Good afternoon, dear colleagues, welcome back. I have a few announcements from my side before we go to the adoption of the agenda. This will take quite a while. First of all, on Afghanistan, 15 months after the fall of Kabul, women are increasingly being squeezed out of public life and refused entry to public spaces. Reports from Kandahar indicate that the world will soon bear witness to a return of public executions, stonings, floggings and punitive amputations. Despite initial promises to protect women’s rights, years of progress are being rolled back. The European Parliament is committed to the people of Afghanistan, not to its rulers. The Taliban want women to be invisible. We want them to thrive. And until they can regain their rightful place in society we will continue to amplify their voice. Last week, we saw a death sentence imposed on arrested protesters in Iran. The European Parliament strongly opposes capital punishment and violent oppression of legitimate protests. I urge the Iranian authorities to stop, here and now. The European Parliament welcomes the addition of 29 individuals and 3 entities to the list of those subject to restrictive measures or sanctions. We call on Member States to keep the pressure up. In response to the unacceptable Iranian sanctioning of Members of this House, let me announce that there shall be no direct contact between European Parliament delegations and committees with official Iranian counterparts until further notice. We will not look away from those who look to us from the streets of Iran. We are with you. We will stay with you. Dear colleagues, the Turkish airstrikes we are seeing in northern Syria and Iraq after the bomb attack in Istanbul are claiming more lives and causing more bloodshed. Let me, from here, call on the Turkish authorities to exercise restraint and respect for international law and standards. Also, last week’s explosions and casualties in Poland are proof that we must not let down our guard. Russia’s continued illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to cause innocent lives to be lost. Our thoughts and solidarity are with the victims, their loved ones, the people of Poland and all the victims of Russian attacks in Ukraine. This week we also mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, the Great Famine of 1932 and 1933, when millions of people in Ukraine were starved intentionally by the Soviet regime. Ninety years later, Ukrainians have to fight again to preserve their lives, identity and freedom. We will not forget the fate that Stalin had in store for Ukrainians during Holodomor. Nor will we forget Russian crimes committed in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izium and in so many other places in Ukraine. Dear colleagues, the attack on two police officers in Brussels last week – killing one, wounding the other – reminds us of the risks our police forces face daily. We must remain vigilant to threats to our internal security, and the European Parliament works so closely with the Belgian police that it is difficult for this not to feel personal to all of us. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.