Press Communiqué
“NO SENSE OF URGENCY IN RIGA ON AFGHANISTAN”,
SAYS BERT KOENDERS, NATO PA PRESIDENT
“I am deeply concerned at the likely outcome of the Riga
Summit,” declared Bert Koenders, President of the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly, after his arrival in Riga, where tomorrow (29November) he will
address Alliance Heads of State and Government gathered in Riga for the
NATO Summit. “Here in Riga, I don’t feel the sense of urgency I had
expected about addressing the serious problems the Alliance is facing in
Afghanistan”
“I fear” he added “that NATO Heads of State and Government might not
seize this opportunity to deal with the operational shortcomings that are
all too evident in Afghanistan, and that the Summit will be a ‘damage
limitation exerciseÂ’ instead of a milestone in NATOÂ’s
development”.
In his address tomorrow, Mr Koenders intends to remind NATO leaders that
“Afghanistan is the reality check on all aspects of NATO’s
transformation”.
Noting that NATO Parliamentarians, meeting recently in Quebec, called
upon NATO governments to “deploy the required capabilities”, Mr Koenders
will stress in Riga that “one hundred percent means one hundred
percent. Anything less places operations at risk and reduces the scope
for reconstruction”.
“NATO leaders should listen to their own rhetoric”, he said. “We
frequently hear that ‘a failed Afghanistan is a failed NATO’. There
is certainly strong parliamentary support for removing those national
caveats that impair the effectiveness of NATO in the field, and for
establishing a more equitable system of common funding and sharing
risks. NATO leaders should show the same resolve on these
issues.”
While commending the role of the armed forces in all NATO operations, Mr
Koenders said that “their political leaders have not yet passed
their test. I hope that they will do so tomorrow.”
For further information,
please contact
Simon Lunn: +32.478.361.662
e-mail:
Press@nato-pa.int
NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Place du Petit Sablon 3, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tél: (32) 2 513 28 65 | Fax: (32) 2 514 18 47 |
website: http://
www.nato-pa.int
|
Background
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded in 1955 with a
Brussels-based secretariat,
brings together 248national parliamentarians from the 26 NATO countries.
In addition, 13 associate delegations from Central and Eastern Europe,
Ukraine and Russia;
4Mediterranean Associate delegations: Morocco, Algeria, Jordan,
Israel
and 8 Parliamentary Observer delegations participate in Assembly
activities and meetings.