17 September 2001Text: NATO Parliamentary Assembly Expresses Condolences, Solidarity
(Statement in response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.) (880) Parliamentary leaders from all 19 NATO countries endorsed a statement September 14 supporting the declaration made on September 12 by the North Atlantic Council that the terrorist attacks on the United States constitute attacks on the entire alliance. The parliamentary leaders went on to say that they will "fully support member governments in providing the United States any and all the diplomatic, political, and, if required, military means at their disposal in order to deal with the perpetrators of this outrage." The parliamentarians also extended their condolences to the American people. Following are the texts of a NATO press release on the declaration and the declaration itself: (begin text) NATO Press Release Brussels 14 September 2001 MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FROM NATO COUNTRIES DECLARE SOLIDARITY WITH UNITED STATES, SUPPORT FOR ARTICLE 5 COLLECTIVE-DEFENCE DECLARATION BRUSSELS -- Parliamentary leaders from all 19 NATO countries today endorsed the action of the North Atlantic Council to declare that this week's attack on the United States constitutes an attack on the entire Alliance. They pledged to support NATO governments "in providing the United States any and all the diplomatic, political, and, if required, military means at their disposal in order to deal with the perpetrators of this outrage." In addition, the legislators extended their condolences to the American people and called the terrorist atrocities "an attack on the principles and values shared by the NATO nations and indeed the entire community of democratic nations." The statement by Rafael Estrella, the Spanish MP [Member of Parliament] who is the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, was endorsed by the leaders of the 19 member delegations to the Assembly. As the inter-parliamentary forum for the North Atlantic Alliance, the 214-member NATO Parliamentary Assembly reflects parliamentary opinion across the political spectrum. In the statement, the parliamentary leaders supported the declaration by NATO's governing council that if it is determined that the attack came from abroad, it shall be regarded as an action covered under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which pledges all Alliance members to collective defence. The next meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly is scheduled for Oct. 5-9 in Ottawa, Ontario. At the plenary session on Tuesday, Oct. 9, Members will consider a declaration stating the Assembly's position in regard to this week's attacks and whatever action the United States and the Alliance may take in response. The declaration will be significant because many NATO countries require their parliaments to authorize military actions abroad or to issue a formal declaration of war. The signatories of today's statement by the leaders of national delegations to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly are as follows: LEADERS OF NATIONAL DELEGATIONS TO THE NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY: President: Rafael Estrella Belgium: Yvon Harmegnies, Vice Chairman, Committee on External Relations, House of Representatives Canada: Carolyn Parrish, Member, Natural Resources and Government Operations Committee, House of Commons Czech Republic: Jiri Payne, Vice Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Chamber of Deputies Denmark: Ingrid Rasmussen, Vice Chairman, Defence Committee, Parliament France: Paulette Brisepierre, Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Armed Forces, Senate Germany: Markus Meckel, Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, Bundestag Greece: Karolos Papoulias, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Chamber of Deputies Hungary: Mihaly Balla, Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, National Assembly Iceland: Tomas Ingi Olrich, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliament Italy: Giorgio Rebuffa, Member, Constitutional Reforms Committee, Chamber of Deputies Luxembourg: Niki Bettendorf, Chairman, Committee on Health and Social Security, Chamber of Deputies Netherlands: Wim van Eekelen, former Minister of Defence, Senate Norway: Jan Petersen, Vice Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Parliament Poland: Czeslaw Bielecki, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Sejm Portugal: Eduardo Pereira, Chairman, Defence Committee, Assembly of the Republic Spain: Jose Maria Robles, Member, Defence Committee, Congress of Deputies Turkey: Tahir Kose, Member, Justice Committee, Grand National Assembly United Kingdom: Donald Anderson, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Commons United States: Douglas Bereuter, Member, International Relations Committee, House of Representatives; Joseph Biden, Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Further information: Susan Millar, Tel: (+ 32 2) 504 8155, Place du Petit Sablon 3, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgique. Tel: (+32 2) 513 2865. Fax: (+32 2) 514 18 47. e-mail: secretariat@nato-pa.int (end press release) (begin declaration) North Atlantic Assembly Brussels 14 September 2001 DECLARATION: THE TERRORIST ATROCITIES COMMITTED IN THE UNITED STATES A STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ON BEHALF OF THE LEADERS OF MEMBER DELEGATIONS OF THE ASSEMBLY On behalf of the leaders of all 19-member delegations to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I wish to express the Assembly's heartfelt condolences to the American people. We believe that the terrorist atrocities committed against the United States on Tuesday 11 September were also an attack on the principles and values shared by the NATO nations and indeed the entire community of democratic nations. We wholeheartedly support the declaration made on 12 September by the North Atlantic Council, and we will fully support member governments in providing the United States any and all the diplomatic, political, and, if required, military means at their disposal in order to deal with the perpetrators of this outrage. As the representatives of parliamentary democracy within the Alliance, we declare our solidarity with our friends and colleagues in the United States. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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