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Europe's Tribalism Allows Washington to Divide and Rule
March 28, 2003 12:00 AM
The European Parliament has fallen into the same trap as political leaders with tribalism allowing Washington to divide and rule. That's the view of Sarah Ludford, Liberal Democrat MEP for London, who in particular singled out the Communist group for sabotaging the chance of a European Parliament resolution on the war on Iraq.
Because they didn't entirely get their way on the amendments they wanted they refused to back a majority (from the Liberal, Socialist and Green groups) which had produced a compromise wording;
"[the European Parliament] strongly deplores the unilateral decision by the war coalition…particularly in the absence of UN legitimacy there is a duty on the countries prosecuting this war…to not use disproportionate force". (from paras 3 & 5 of the joint motion for a resolution)
Said Sarah:
"It was self-indulgent of them to be so purist that they undermined the chance of getting majority agreement in the European Parliament expressing condemnation of an illegitimate war.
"It is a great shame that tribal posturing blocked an expression of a majority opinion of European citizens.
"They are almost mirroring the blinkered stubbornness of the Washington hawks like Donald Rumsfeld."
Sarah Ludford also charged Donald Rumsfeld and Tony Blair with double standards by (rightly) calling on Iraq to observe the Geneva Convention in treatment of American and British PoWs while refusing to apply the same convention in the treatment of the 600 detainees held without charge or trial in Guantanamo Bay.
She said:
"Despite there being British citizens interned there, Tony Blair's government has made no representation whatsoever about their illegal detention and withholding of Geneva Convention status."
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