#6
Irish Times
January 10, 2002
Gorbachev calls on European nations to unite
An impassioned plea for the unity of Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals
has been made by the former Soviet leader, Mr Mikhail Gorbachev. He concluded a
wide-ranging address on the problems of the modern world with a call for the
European Union to admit Russia to associate membership.
Mr Gorbachev was introduced to his audience at the Institute of European
Affairs (IEA) in Dublin yesterday as 'a charismatic figure . . . one of the few
in the contemporary world'. Mr Brendan Halligan, of the IEA, said the guest
speaker was 'a truly great man'.
There was a standing-room only crowd for the former general secretary of the
Soviet Communist Party, including senior politicians Mr Desmond O'Malley, Dr
Garret FitzGerald and Mr John Bruton and former European Commissioner, Mr
Richard Burke. Mr Gorbachev quipped: 'It is almost like a Russian Orthodox
church, they stand when they pray.'
Now leader of the Russian Social Democratic Party, Mr Gorbachev expressed
regret that the ending of the Cold War was not used more constructively to
tackle global problems such as war and poverty. He reminded his listeners that
on his initiative, a summit of leaders from across the continent of Europe was
convened in Paris in 1990. They adopted the Charter of Paris which mapped out
the road to demilitarisation and common European security.
There was 'a real possibility to move towards a new world order' but that
process slowed down after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. 'Even in
Europe we saw a battle for spheres of influence.'
When constituent republics in the Yugoslav federation began to declare their
independence, they should have been invited to negotiations, but instead
European states, particularly Germany, began to recognise those republics,
particularly Croatia. 'Then we saw the inevitable result,' he said.
Since then there had been accusations of genocide at the Hague tribunal, but
he sometimes thought of the 'true culprits' and whether there should perhaps be
a different type of tribunal.
Some people said at the time that 'Europe begins at Brest, France, and ends
at Brest, Belarus'. Meanwhile at the United Nations, international powers wanted
to create the precedent of 'humanitarian intervention' as an arbitrary method of
addressing issues.
Opportunities were 'frittered away', the developed nations rejected a really
new world order and then found themselves unprepared for globalisation. The
result of unmanaged globalisation was growing poverty. 'It has not reduced the
gap between rich and poor,' he warned.
As events at Seattle, Nice and Prague had shown, there was now an anti-globalisation
movement and the G8 leaders would probably have to meet on some uninhabited
island. 'Maybe they should meet in Heaven, if they are accepted,' he quipped.
Today, half the world was in dire poverty and terrorists were saying, 'we are
working for the poor'. The September 11th tragedy had really shaken the world.
'Now we all have to think about, 'what next'?' There was no justification for
terrorism, which had to be defeated. 'There is no other choice, but we need to
see the root causes of terrorism and start addressing them.'
Europe had to integrate, building on the 'great triumph' of the European Coal
and Steel Community which led to the European Union. 'Now Europe has to define
itself again.' An alternative must be found to the conflict between the 'golden
billion' and the rest of the world. 'We need a united greater Europe.'
He pointed out, however, that enlargement to 25 or 27 members would make for
a less homogenous Europe. 'It will be difficult to absorb those economies.'
Political will and vision were needed. 'We should not panic when life changes,'
said Mr Gorbachev.
Russia was an important part of Europe. President Bush had told him recently:
'You have all the resources, you just need to get your act together.'
'The EU cannot be anti-Russian or anti-American,' Mr Gorbachev said.
BACK TO THE TOP  #188 CONTENTS NEXT SECTION
|
