Activities of Bas BELDER related to 2010/2050(INI)
Plenary speeches (3)
EU approach towards Iran (A7-0037/2011, Bastiaan Belder) (vote)
EU approach towards Iran (debate)
EU approach towards Iran (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the EU's approach towards Iran PDF (184 KB) DOC (124 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas while all previous Iranian presidents have become relatively more pragmatic during their time in office, Ahmadinejad is the first president to have become more extreme – particularly on issues relating to the United States and Israel,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas since president Ahmadinejad’s election in 2005, the IRGC has used funds accumulated since the 1980s to purchase state enterprises and businesses privatised through the Tehran Stock Exchange,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas Iran ranks amongst the most "wired" nations in the Middle East, making it the third largest blogosphere in the world after the United States and China; whereas it is not by accident that telecommunications and the Internet have been routinely disrupted since the June 2009 elections,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas numerous Iranians have been executed for political reasons, countless remain in prison, and hundreds have been forced to flee the country in fear of their lives and/or indefinite detention, interrogation and torture,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas human rights bodies inside Iran (e.g. the Islamic Human Rights Commission and the Article 90 Commission) are allied to the Government and remain largely insignificant,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas Iran’s nuclear programme has a history of concealment, which over time has eroded the credibility of Iran’s claims that the programme is only for peaceful purposes,
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that the reformist movement covers a spectrum of intellectual trends and political agendas ranging from a wish to gradually modernize Iran’s governmental institutions to the aim of thoroughly overhauling the regime;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Strongly rejects the regime’s condemnation of protesters and opposition following the 2009 elections as “enemies of Allah” (“muharib”), who, in accordance with Islam, should receive the severest of punishments; concludes that while during the Shah’s reign criticism of the regime was considered a crime, under the current regime it is tantamount to a sin against Islam;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is gravely concerned about the major role played by the Student Basij Organization (SBO) in Iranian society in controlling and suppressing student dissent, under central IRGC control, whereas Iran’s student movement has been one of the most prominent actors in the struggle for democracy, freedom and justice;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Takes note of the Iranian authorities’ claim to be against racial discrimination, but stresses that Iran’s ethnic minorities lament the economic underdevelopment of the provinces where they are in a majority; condemns the numerous terrorist attacks by Jundollah in Sistan and Baluchistan since its establishment in 2003; at the same time, asks for concrete proofs of the official Iranian claim that Jundollah is supported by the American and British intelligence services;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Suggests that streets or districts where Iranian embassies are located in EU Member States be renamed after prominent Iranian dissidents or victims of the suffering the present Iranian Government visits upon its own citizens;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Deplores the fact that Iranian husbands can claim that their adulterous relationships are in fact lawful temporary marriages, whereas married women accused of adultery have access to no such reprieve; deplores also that article 105 of the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic enables a judge to sentence an adulterer to stoning based only on his “knowledge”; deplores, too, the fact that Iran tries to limit international knowledge of its brutality by not announcing stoning verdicts publicly;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Demands that EU Member States strictly apply EU Council Regulation 1236/2005 to Iran by drafting reports verifying Tehran’s use of legitimate equipment for illegitimate purposes (e.g. capital punishment, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment) and places an embargo on exports in particular cases;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Is very concerned by the fact that the arbitrary administration of justice in Iran results in a strong self-censorship in the media;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that Iran comes second on the World Watch List of Religious Persecution for 2010; condemns the waves of arrests of Christians in 2009, when at least 85 Christians were arrested; condemns the systematic persecution of the Baha'’i community; condemns the ongoing religious discrimination of the Sunni- Muslim minority; calls for strong advocacy of religious freedom in Iran from the Council and Commission;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the European Council to expand the existing list of proscribed Iranian entities to take into account the vast procurement network that Iran has in EU jurisdictions and in countries benefiting from the ENP, which seeks to more easily procure proscribed technology and evade the sanctions’ regime;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls on the European Council to expand the list of Iranian individuals with links to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programmes and their attendant procurement networks; calls on the relevant authorities to move quickly to freeze their assets and prevent them from entering EU territory and using EU jurisdictions to conduct any activity related to these programmes;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Is alarmed by the steadily increasing role of the IRGC in Central Asia; fully understands and shares the concerns of countries such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan about possible IRGC programmes aimed at destabilising their governments; calls on the Council and the Commission to properly defend European interests in this region through cooperation on economic and energy- related issues;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Considers that the activities of the Imam Khomeini Relief Center in Afghanistan are aimed at disseminating the political and ideological agenda of Iran in the country;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Is particularly concerned about the anti-western propaganda of the Imam Khomeini Relief Center in Afghanistan and the ambiguous attitude of the Iranian authorities in both supporting the Afghan Government and arming the Taliban; calls on Iran to recognise the major role it could play in Afghanistan and the wider region by replacing its anti-western policies with a solid and responsible policy towards the outside world;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
21d. Is very concerned about the considerable influence of Iran on the fragile situation in its near neighbour country Iraq, which is further destabilising the region at large; urges, therefore, the European Council and the Commission to counterbalance this dangerous situation by contributing to the political and socio-economic development of Iraq;