President. The next item is the debate on six motions for resolutions⁽¹⁾ on the kidnapping in Gaza of the journalist Alan Johnston.

  Richard Howitt (PSE), author. – Madam President, with your agreement I should like to begin by saying that last week over one thousand BBC staff, friends and colleagues of Alan Johnston gathered at vigils for him at BBC buildings across the world. I should like to welcome the BBC staff working here in Strasbourg who, in tribute to their missing colleague, are in the public gallery today to listen to our debate.

(Applause)

When a kidnapping takes place anywhere in the world, the victim’s friends and family always look to the media to keep the fate of their loved one in the eye of the public and of us as politicians. When the kidnapped person is himself a journalist, it is our responsibility to cherish their fate as they cherish others’.

Such is the case with BBC journalist Alan Johnston, abducted in Gaza 46 days ago. Alan’s career personally symbolises the outstanding reputation of the BBC for integrity and objectivity. Having previously worked in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Alan is passionate about his reporting on the Palestinian people, with whom he has a close connection and for whom he has deep respect. This has resonated among his audience, 50 000 of whom have this week signed the online petition asking for his release.

Our first thoughts are, of course, with Graham and Margaret Johnston and with the other members of his family, to whom we send our sympathy and support.

I would like to pay tribute to the efforts of all the BBC management and staff and to journalists, trade unions in Britain and worldwide who have led the campaign for Alan’s release.

One of the colleagues here today told me that Alan is known quite simply as someone who brings stories to life. Today his life is our story. Alan Johnston’s courageous presence, as the only permanently-based Western journalist in Gaza, has precisely enabled him to report the suffering of the Palestinian people, and now he has become the ultimate case of a journalist caught up in his own story – a victim of the suffering itself.

We are told that Alan remains alive and secure, but not who is holding him. We can speculate whether his abduction was for reasons of politics, money or recognition, but we do not know which, if any. We can recognise that to prevent what has happened to Alan from happening to others requires a political understanding and solution.

However, today our response is not political – it is humanitarian, to say to whoever is listening: release Alan Johnston without harm and without hindrance. The European Parliament should welcome the assurances of help made by Europe’s Foreign Ministers this week and of ‘permanent contact’ promised by our own High Representative. We are sure you will act on these promises. I understand too that Commissioner Almunia, responding to today’s debate, will pledge that his colleague Mr Michel will this weekend press Alan Johnston’s case with President Abbas and representatives of the Palestinian Authority. We thank you.

The European Parliament acknowledges the support and cooperation of the Palestinian Authority and we are proud of Europe’s support to sustain your staff and the vital services they provide, but it is your intelligence services who have been able to make contact with those who have abducted Alan, and it is in you that we place our hopes for a breakthrough.

In radio circles, they say that the biggest crime is to say nothing into the microphone. Alan Johnston’s kidnapping is the radio silence that now must come to an end.

(Applause)

  Marcin Libicki (UEN), autor. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Są dziennikarze, którzy lepiej i gorzej wywiązują się ze swoich obowiązków, są lepsze i gorsze media. Alan Johnston był dobrym dziennikarzem w znanym, popularnym i uznanym medium, jakim jest BBC. Alan Johnston został porwany, mimo tego czy dlatego, że chciał pracować właśnie dla tych, wśród których pracował, dla ludu Bliskiego Wschodu, dzisiaj znajdującego się w tak tragicznej sytuacji. Pracował dla nich, bo informował świat o tej sytuacji i w ten sposób, dostarczając informacji pozwalał nam, politykom, również starać się rozwiązać tę sytuację, na którą niestety mamy bardzo mały wpływ.

Pani Przewodnicząca! Porwania, terroryzm, morderstwa są niestety zjawiskami dzisiejszego świata, świata, w którym nie ma już żadnych zasad, nawet - jeżeli można by tak powiedzieć - zasad prowadzenia wojny. Te wojny prowadzi się w najbardziej niegodziwy sposób. Alan Johnston padł tego ofiarą. W pewnym sensie my wszyscy padamy tego ofiarą. Mam nadzieję, że stosowne władze zrobią wszystko, co jest możliwe, żeby go uwolnić.

  Marios Matsakis (ALDE), author. – Madam President, there is no doubt that Palestinians in Gaza are suffering greatly through the gross violation of their human rights by the dreadful siege situation imposed on them by the aggressive Israeli Government actions and the tolerance shown for such actions by Western governments.

At the same time, there is no doubt that the daily plight of the Palestinian people is brought to public attention worldwide through the work of journalists. These journalists risk their lives in order to serve the cause of freedom of information and consequently assist in promoting the Palestinian people’s fight for justice. The kidnapping of journalists such as Alan Johnston is, therefore, against the interests of the Palestinian people and is severely damaging their just demands. We call upon the Palestinian people to redouble their efforts to secure the release of Alan Johnston. We believe that in so doing they will be helping themselves most of all.

  Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL), Auteur. – Voorzitter, Gaza is een klein, maar sterk verstedelijkt gebied, vrijwel afgesloten van de buitenwereld. De met geld van de Europese Unie voorbereide haven en luchthaven hebben zich dankzij de tegenwerking van buurstaat Israël niet kunnen ontwikkelen. De open verbinding met het langs de Jordaan gelegen veel grotere deel van de toekomstige Palestijnse staat, is er evenmin gekomen. Israël, lange tijd een plek die werkgelegenheid bood, heeft uit vrees voor aanslagen die mogelijkheid grotendeels afgesneden en laat via de grenspost Erez veel minder mensen toe.

Israël controleert ook de grensovergang met Egypte. In dit geïsoleerde gebied woont een groot deel van de Palestijnse bevolking opeengepakt, zonder werk, zonder inkomen en zonder toereikende huisvesting. Het verstandige besluit om de Israëlische kolonistendorpen uit deze kuststrook terug te trekken, loste wel iets op voor de door hun omgeving gehate inwoners van die dorpen, maar nauwelijks iets voor alle andere inwoners.

Gaza is een rampgebied vol mensen zonder vooruitzichten voor de toekomst. Dat maakt het tot een soort gevangenis een broedplaats voor wanhoopsdaden. Die wanhoopsdaden bestonden lange tijd vooral uit zelfmoordaanslagen tegen Israëlische doelen, maar ook ontvoeringen behoren ertoe. Alan Johnston is de vijftiende ontvoerde journalist in Gaza en in de maand na zijn ontvoering, is lang niets over hem vernomen.

Alle Palestijnse leiders, president Mahmoud Abbas, premier Ismail Haniya en de gevangen lijstaanvoerder van de PLO, Marwan Barghouti, veroordelen eensgezind dit soort wandaden. Bij gebrek aan overtuigende successen op weg naar een eigen staat en naar voorzieningen en inkomsten voor hun volk zijn zij de controle over de gebeurtenissen aan het kwijtraken. Zonder perspectief voor Gaza nemen onbekende criminelen de macht over. Voor Palestina en Israël maakt het de toestand er niet beter op. Voor journalisten wordt het, net als in Irak en Afghanistan, steeds meer onmogelijk om ter plaatse de ontwikkelingen te volgen. Daarom moeten wij alert zijn, daarom moeten de ontvoerde journalisten vrij.

  Carl Schlyter (Verts/ALE), författare till resolutionsförslaget. – Fru talman! Förra året kidnappades och dog rekordmånga journalister över hela jorden. Det är nu vår skyldighet att se till att det rekordet inte slås 2007. Det är vår skyldighet att hjälpa Alan Johnston att bli frigiven.

Jag riktar mig till hans familj, anhöriga och kolleger, och jag måste säga att mina förhoppningar att han skall bli frigiven är stora. Vi vet att palestinska ledare fördömer kidnappningen. Vi vet att kidnapparna inte har det palestinska folkets stöd. Vi vet att de förstår att Alan Johnston har gjort mer än någon annan för att rapportera om deras lidanden under 16 års tid. Med dessa faktorer i ryggen kan också vi bidra till att han blir frigiven.

Jag har själv varit i Gaza och vet hur svårt det är där. Dess bästa möjlighet att få oss alla att hjälpa folket till en bättre situation är dock att se till att så många journalister som möjligt finns där och att så många som möjligt skriver om vad som händer där. Eftersom det palestinska folket vet att denna kidnappning är emot deras intresse är jag säker på att kidnapparna inte kommer att få något stöd och till slut måste frige Alan Johnston.

  Ρόδη Κράτσα-Τσαγκαροπούλου (PPE-DE), Συντάκτρια. – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, επιτρέψτε μου να εκφράσω και εγώ τη λύπη μου για το γεγονός. Ένας ακόμη δημοσιογράφος, που έχει το θάρρος να κάνει τη δουλειά του σε δύσκολες και επικίνδυνες συνθήκες, πέφτει θύμα απαγωγής, γεγονός που μας στερεί και την ενημέρωση που μπορούμε να έχουμε και εμείς οι πολιτικοί και η διεθνής κοινή γνώμη για τις τραγικές συνθήκες που επικρατούν στην περιοχή.

Ελπίζω ότι η κινητοποίηση της κοινής γνώμης και της πολιτικής ηγεσίας στα παλαιστινιακά εδάφη, καθώς και η αποτελεσματικότητα της κυβέρνησης εθνικής ενότητας, που μέρα με τη μέρα πρέπει να γίνεται πιο ορατή, θα συμβάλουν στην απελευθέρωση του δημοσιογράφου Alan Johnston, στην αποκάλυψη των υπευθύνων και στην απόδοση ευθυνών.

Την επόμενη εβδομάδα, μια αντιπροσωπεία βουλευτών -μεταξύ των οποίων θα είμαι εγώ και συνάδελφοι που παρίστανται στην αίθουσα- θα μεταβούμε στα παλαιστινιακά εδάφη. Μέσα στο πλαίσιο των Διεθνών Συνθηκών και των διμερών μας σχέσεων με την Παλαιστινιακή Αρχή θα μεταφέρουμε την ανησυχία αυτή και θα ασκήσουμε κάθε δυνατή πίεση -αν δεν έχει ακόμη επιλυθεί το θέμα- ώστε να ελευθερωθεί ο Alan Johnston και να εξασφαλιστούν όσο το δυνατό περισσότερες εγγυήσεις για την ασφάλεια των εγχωρίων πολιτών, αλλά και των επισκεπτών στην περιοχή αυτή.

  Simon Coveney, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. – Madam President, I hope this debate and resolution will add, in some small way, to the international pressure to successfully achieve the release of Alan Johnston following his abduction two weeks ago.

We in this Parliament must speak out strongly to send a clear message of condemnation of the acts of violence that have taken place and the kidnapping of a man who has gained a reputation as one of the world’s leading media broadcasters. He has built up a reputation over many years – but in particular during the last three years in Gaza – as a broadcaster who is objective and balanced in his reporting of a very difficult situation.

We call on everybody who has any influence or power over his captors to do all they can to secure his release. For the Palestinian people themselves, this crisis is adding to an already tragic situation. It is sending out a message to the rest of the world that not even experienced journalists are welcome or safe in Gaza.

This is a man who has been informing the rest of the world of the suffering, injustice and tragedy that continues there. Targeting him by kidnapping him is not only an appalling crime in itself, but it is self-defeating in terms of the Palestinian people’s cause.

Gaza is isolated enough without cutting off accurate media reporting. We are calling on the Palestinian Authority in particular to work for his release as an absolute priority and on the Council and Commission to maximise their efforts to that end.

Finally, to Alan Johnston’s family and friends, I express my sincere support on behalf of the PPE-DE Group in this Parliament. I hope that their ordeal will soon have a relieving and positive conclusion.

  Elizabeth Lynne, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – I too would like to offer my support and that of the ALDE Group to Alan Johnston and his family.

I do not think any of us can imagine why he is being held. He is a man who has consistently spoken up for the Palestinian people. To kidnap someone like him is unbelievable. What do they hope to achieve? It certainly does nothing for the Palestinian cause, as many Palestinians themselves have pointed out. His only offence is his belief that the story of Gaza and its people should be told in a fair and balanced way, and he has being doing that in an exceptional manner for the last three years. He was the only foreign correspondent living permanently in the Gaza Strip.

We all hoped that he would have been released by now, as the 14 others kidnapped since 2005 were released, and we are today adding our voices to those calling for the Palestinian Authority to redouble its efforts to secure Alan Johnston’s speedy release. We are also calling for all attacks on journalists to cease. What more can any of us say? I am sure that people across the EU are hoping and praying for his release. All we are doing today is trying to add our voices to those of his parents and his colleagues, and to say to his kidnappers: realise that if anything happens to him, you will have lost a strong voice telling your story to the world. All you will achieve is to isolate yourself and the Palestinian people further. That cannot be what you want. You want your voice to be heard, not to be further marginalised. These acts make it more difficult for those of us who have always supported the Palestinian cause to persuade people of the validity of the argument, and that is why it is completely self-defeating and betrays the Palestinian people, who continue to suffer.

  Zuzana Roithová (PPE-DE). – Dámy a pánové, navazuji na dopis poslanců, v němž žádáme palestinské úřady a ostatní organizace, aby se okamžitě angažovaly v bezpodmínečném propuštění novináře BBC.

Nyní naléhavě žádáme Komisi a Radu o totéž, a to i za cenu uvalení sankcí, pokud selže diplomatické jednání. Únosci, kteří zadržují tohoto novináře již 46 dní, ale i prezident Abás musí vědět, že tak zadržují celou Palestinu na její cestě k rozvoji a zatahují ji do izolace.

Zdůrazňuji, že propuštění Alana Johnstona je klíčové pro bezpečnost všech novinářů pracujících na Blízkém východě. Chci na půdě Parlamentu vyjádřit, jak hluboce si vážím tříleté práce Johnstona v Gaze a ocenit hrdinství všech jeho kolegů i jejich rodin za to, že zajišťují nezávislé zpravodajství z oblasti konfliktů pro celý svět. Jsou důležitou nadějí pro místní obyvatele, kteří čelí krutému násilí, které by nemohlo být odsouzeno a potrestáno bez nezávislého zpravodajství.

Evropa musí udělat naprosto vše pro bezpečnost novinářů v této oblasti.

  Sarah Ludford (ALDE). – Madam President, Alan Johnston has been a BBC journalist for 16 years and has worked in a variety of countries, including Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, so he has not exactly chosen a comfortable life! During his three years in Gaza he has taken a strong interest in social and political developments there and he has told the story of the people of Gaza. Therefore, as others have said, it very much harms the Palestinian cause for him not to be doing the job that he loves and does so well.

In 2005 and 2006 alone, 181 journalists and assistants were killed, 1678 arrested, 56 kidnapped and 2780 physically attacked or threatened. The year 2006 saw the highest death toll since 1994 when 103 died, in particular in Rwanda, Algeria and the former Yugoslavia. Censorship and media bans are, of course, widespread and persistent.

In this joint motion for a resolution we are calling on all EU bodies – Member State diplomats, the High Representative for CFSP and the Commission – to strengthen and coordinate their efforts to secure Mr Johnston’s release. We are also calling on the Palestinian Authority to increase its efforts and it, no doubt, will give the matter all the greater priority if it is pressed by the Palestinian people. I thank all those in Gaza – journalists and citizens of all kinds – for their vocal demands for Alan Johnston’s release. They know that they need a journalist of integrity and commitment to give them a window on the world.

Free democracies cannot flourish without press freedom. As we insist on Alan Johnston’s safe return, we salute the courage of all journalists who put their safety on the line in order to bring the truth to the world and to allow us all to enjoy democracy.

  Günter Nooke, amtierender Ratspräsident. Frau Präsidentin, verehrte Abgeordnete! Lassen Sie mich an dieser Stelle für den Rat eine kurze Anmerkung machen und zum Ausdruck bringen, wie sehr uns dieses Thema alle bedrückt. Am 12. März wurde in Gaza der BBC-Korrespondent Alan Johnston entführt. Im Außenministerrat am vergangenen Montag herrschte große Sorge um Herrn Johnston, der nun bereits seit sechs Wochen verschleppt ist. Wir fordern eine bedingungslose und unverzügliche Freilassung!

Herr Johnston ist ein international respektierter Journalist, der viele Freunde in Gaza hat und dem es immer ein Anliegen gewesen ist, der Weltöffentlichkeit die dortige Lage vor Augen zu führen. Seine Entführung ist ein krimineller Akt, den ich nur aufs Schärfste verurteilen kann. Ich möchte an dieser Stelle auch seiner Familie mein Mitgefühl ausdrücken, die sich für ihn einsetzt und nun schon seit über anderthalb Monaten in Angst und banger Ungewissheit lebt.

(Beifall)

  Joaquín Almunia, Member of the Commission. Madam President, it has been more than six weeks since Alan Johnston was kidnapped, and the Commission has expressed its solidarity with his family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time.

Margot Wallström, as Vice-President of the Commission, has made a public statement on the kidnapping of Mr Johnston on behalf of the whole College, expressing its deep concern over his plight and calling for his immediate release. This week, the kidnapping was condemned by the Council, which has called for Mr Johnston’s unconditional release. Furthermore, yesterday, my colleague Louis Michel also raised the issue of the abduction of the BBC journalist during a meeting with the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister, Mr al-Ahmad. He asked him to use all his influence and contacts and to do everything in his power to locate Mr Johnston. The Deputy Prime Minister assured Mr Michel that he would do all he could to secure a rapid release.

Commissioner Michel also repeated those requests in his meetings with other Palestinian interlocutors during his trip to the region. Intensive coordinated diplomatic efforts are under way for an immediate release of Mr Johnston. Our staff in Jerusalem are following developments closely and inform us that the Palestinian authorities, in cooperation with the security forces, are discussing all possible options with the UK Government, with a view to a successful outcome.

This remains a high priority for President Abbas, and we note the public statements that have also been made by Prime Minister Haniyeh, as well as by Mr Barghouti, on behalf of Palestinian prisoners, and by Palestinians around the world, condemning this kidnapping.

Clearly, the kidnapping of a prominent journalist like Alan Johnston, who has done so much to bring the situation of Palestinians to the world’s attention, is particularly distressing. Those responsible for this abduction are doing a disservice to the cause of the Palestinian people and to the peace process in the Middle East.

(Applause)

  President. Thank you for those statements.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place shortly.