madam president when we heard the recording from mr fariñas from cuba this morning i was impressed by the fact that he identified himself and his colleagues as a non-violent opposition to the cuban regime
i think it is particularly important to respect the rights of people who neither commit violence nor encourage violence in others
however before we become too pious about this we must face up to the fact that in some eu countries people such as mr geert wilders in the netherlands are prosecuted for having dissenting political opinions or heretical opinions of academic subjects without a hint of encouragement of violence
moreover a political party without any violent connections has been banned in belgium
an attempt to ban a party in germany failed in the constitutional court only because it was revealed that the evidence had been fabricated by state agents
in the uk a state body has been pursuing a civil action against our own party with the express purpose of closing us down
