Statement by Manuel Marín, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Cooperation and Development (Economic Cooperation with Southern Mediterranean, Middle East, Latin America and Asia and the Lomé Convention) and the European Community Humanitarian Office during the debate on the situation in Rwanda.

Debate on the situation in Rwanda : statement by Manuel Marín, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Cooperation and Development

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, Madam President, Madam President of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, in reply both to the oral question and to the motion for a resolution, I should like to explain the early conclusions the Commission has drawn following the recent visit of the troika to Rwanda and then, finally, to put forward certain considerations of a general and more political nature in reply to the speeches by Lord Plumb and Mr Kouchner. In the Commission's view there are four basic factors tobe taken into account:

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, First, there is every reason to think that in view of the situation and the nature of the crisis it will benecessary to continue the humanitarian work for some considerable time. Secondly we think that for the moment &mdash; and as the report of the President of the Council to some extent confirmed &mdash; it will not be possible in the short term, regard being had to the conditions in the country and the situation in the capital above all, to create a framework of normal co-operation with the Kigali authorities. Thirdly, it is essential, in the Commission's view, for the European Union to send these new authorities as a matter of urgency a sign of its confidence in the form of support for their material efforts in order to create the climate of confidence which is indispensable for national reconciliation. Fourthly, we think that the rehabilitation measures, as the Council has also indicated, must not be restricted exclusively to Rwanda but will have to have a strong regional content, aimed also at neighbouring countries and those which have suffered the direct consequences of the conflict.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, These four points are the first conclusions of the technical report which the Council has called upon us to draft. As regards humanitarian aid, of course the European Union has made an enormous effort. As is stated in the motion for a resolution, if we add up all the resources which have come through Community organizations, the European Union has made a contribution of some ECU 350 million, which makes us the major donor in the Rwanda crisis. The Commission thinks that it must continue to offer this aid to all the countries affected by the crisis. That is to say &mdash; apart from Rwanda &mdash; to Burundi, Tanzania and Zaire, not only in the humanitarian sphere but also in that of the application of the first rehabilitation measures, with the aim of launching, as far as possible, a process of development involving the various interests of the countries I have just mentioned.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, I should like to mention one absolutely fundamental point. We have certainly seen during the Rwandan crisis an enormous surge of solidarity shown by the European punlib in the face of the Rwanda crisis, which it has been possible to channel basically through the specialist agencies and the non-government organizations. It goes without saying that the Commission is ready to take action if other needs arise, if necessary making our internal procedures more flexible so as to be still more effective. I therefore have to accept that it will be necessary to improve still further our co-ordination with the humanitarian and non-government organizations. I think it is essential to make one elementary point: in Rwanda we have once again seen the very praiseworthy work of those carrying out the humanitarian tasks, and in that respect the planning carried out by those organizations, such as the NGOs, has been exemplary. From this point of view it must be accepted that the response of the public, in general terms, together with the non-government organizations, has been simply admirable.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, As regards rehabilitation &mdash; an important subject for the future -we are studying at present an initial urgent measure, since, as the President of the Council has said, we shall be working in three stages. There will be a first stage dedicated to making the whole system of electricity and running water in the capital operational. That first stage has already been decided upon and will cost very little, ECU 5 million, but it is basically a question of electricity and running water being available to show the refugees at the frontier, above all, that the capital &mdash; which is deserted &mdash; is sufficiently habitable to have electricity and running water. Then we shall move on to a second stage of rehabilitation, whilst keeping up humanitarian aid. There is at present a team on the spot carrying out a series of evaluations. If rehabilitation is to be effective it is essential to repatriate the refugees. There is no point in starting to rehabilitate the country in present circumstances and it therefore seems to us fundamental for rehabilitation to proceed as the refugees return. I should like to reply to a specific request made by Mr Kouchner: everything is ready so that, if there is a formal request from the new authorities in Kigali, the European Union is in a position to send immediately civilian observers to guarantee the stability and safety of repatriation. The political decision has already been taken by the Council, but we therefore need the new authorities in Rwanda to make the request.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, I shall not go into all the measures relating to the rehabilitation programme, to avoid making the debate over-bureaucratic, but the programme covers topics from agricultural production to economic infrastructures by way of the recovery of tourism and the reorganization of export outlets for coffee and tea. It amounts to a classical rehabilitation programme and I do not think it will raise any great problems, since the Commission already has the experience of Liberia, Somalia, Mozambique and Angola. Another problem &mdash; and I am getting to the end, Lord Plumb, Mr Kouchner and Madam President of the Council &mdash; is that relating to what has happened in Rwanda. Why has this happened in Rwanda? What is the basic question raised by the European Parliament? We think that in terms of foreign and security policy it is still possible to do quite a lot. We think it is fundamental for the European Union to come to a decision with regard to the following fields of action:

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, First, with regard to the question of the setting up and operation of the International Court which, in the framework of the United Nations, has to solve the problem of genocide, we think that an effort must be made to set it up so that the crimes committed shall not remain unpunished, and that is good for the future. Secondly, we have returned full of concern as regards what we have seen in Burundi. The situation there is explosive and all steps must be taken to ensure that there can be no repetition of a situation such as that in Rwanda. Consequently, even though preventive diplomacy was unable to prevent the genocide in Rwanda, it must act to prevent that situation arising again in the neighbouring country. Thirdly, we think that the time has come to relaunch slowly our work of co-operation with Zaire as indicated in the motion for a resolution. It is absolutely fundamental for the Government of Zaire to uphold its commitment to disarm the Hutu militia and to prevent the former Rwandan army from rearming in order to mount an operation of reconquest from Zairean teritory, which would provoke a further civil war and further genocide.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, This is therefore a question which must be posed in openly political terms and the Commission is in favour of initiating such contacts with Mr Kengo's government. Fourthly, to monitor the return of the refugees, observers must be sent. The decision is already taken. There is another crucial question which we must raise, also openly, with the Council: if one of the key aspects of national reconciliation is the fusion into a new army of the former Rwandan officers with the Tutsi officers and the creation of a new army not organized on an ethnic basis &mdash; which was what started the conflict &mdash; why does not the WEU propose, once and for all, the possibility of giving support in military material so as to encourage, little by little, the establishment of a national army? I think that is something in which the European Union could collaborate.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, Congratulations on your mission, Lord Plumb. It was a pioneering mission. You have described very well what the real position was. So I shall not repeat things that you certainly know better than I. Please tell Mr H&auml;nsch, Madam President, what pleasure it gave us to receive his letter, and finally I should like to tell you something. In August the Commission &mdash; and I say this with no hint of false modesty &mdash; the Council, the troika, Mr Repnik and we in the institutions in general did our homework. There was no money and we did some financial engineering and found the money. There were logistical problems, and we solved them.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Manuel MARIN, EC Vice-President, But I should like to return to our debate on behalf of the Committee on Development &mdash; and I shall have finished &mdash; which is the great question: was what happened in Rwanda inevitable? Because this is what we must consider: the problem of preventive intervention, of preventive diplomacy arises. On this point I should like to inform Parliament of some relevant details, since it is a debate of fundamental importance for the future. In Rwanda we have spent ECU 350 million. If we add what the Member States have spent individually, plus the contributions of the NGOs and the specialist agencies, over ECU 500 million will have been spent in Rwanda in three months. For this year in Yugoslavia we have spent only ECU 158 million. The European Parliament must realize that in Rwanda we have spent four times as much money as in Yugoslavia. And I ask whether with ECU 500 million it would not have been possible to send people there who could have prevented the conflict. As the person responSible for administering humanitarian aid, I am convinced that, apart from the human problem, apart from the genocide, it would have been much cheaper for the Community budget to try to prevent the conflict.