Europe

Home page

Europe

PACE Bureau calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

09 January 2009 15:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementieva- APA. The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting in Barcelona, today adopted the statement ,APA reports quoting Press Service of the Council of Europe.
â€œThe Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe fully supports the resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 8 January 2009. It calls for an immediate ceasefire to be respected by all sides. Both sides must understand that violence, destruction and death will only lead to more violence and death. Our Assembly, which has always stood for peace and human rights, cannot accept the deadly escalation of the last days. The only solution is a political one: establishing a durable ceasefire, dialogue and negotiation. The immediate objective should be to create conditions in which the blockade of Gaza can be lifted, â€œsaid in a statement .
Israel’s refusal to allow international journalists into Gaza is not in conformity with the democratic values it shares with the Council of Europe. Freedom of information in the media is an essential requirement of democracy. Where this is lacking, the democratic deficit is severe.
Moreover, the Bureau decides to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate on the issue at the next plenary part session (Strasbourg, 26-30 January 2009) and to invite Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part.