MEP for Scotland Newsletter October 2015 Refugee Crisis The most compelling news story of recent times is surely the ongoing refugee crisis, where desperate people fleeing their war-torn country in search of safety for themselves and their children, only to be treated as human garbage. The greatest burden is not falling on Europe, and certainly not the UK, Members of the Hungarian Defence Force install barbed wire on the despite what cynical, reactionary types Hungarian-Serbian border. Image courtesy of syriafreedom on flickr would have you believe. During my meeting with Graham O’Neill of the Scottish The conflation of refugees and migrants is a vile Refugee Council, I realised we have to do more to stress misrepresentation, done deliberately. Refugees are not that refugees are welcome in Scotland. migrants. They’re not voluntarily moving; they’re fleeing immediate danger to them and their families, often leaving everything behind in the process. @AlynSmithMEP As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, a STV News article on my comments on representative for the Scottish people, and a decent the refugee debate we had this week. human being, this issue that has punched me directly in #refugeeswelcome in Scotland. the breastbone. http://m.stv.tv/news/scotland/1328579- scottish-politician-slams-sheer-panic- @AlynSmithMEP among-leaders-over-refugees/ The Scottish people did not disappoint; I have been inundated with the kindest emails you can imagine, from people willing to accept refugee families into their homes, to people offering to drive to Calais with direct donations of food and warm clothes. Let us not forget, these vulnerable people are fleeing danger that the UK helped to create. You can read more about this in my recent article for The Sunday Herald: Productive meeting with Graham from www.alynsmith.eu/herald_2015_09_refugees @Scottishrefugee, much to do to stress #RefugeesWelcome in Scotland Tunisia Tunisia is in many ways a progressive and liberal urging the immediate release of “Marwan” (not his real democracy, and the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet name), a 22 year-old man sentenced to a year in prison are well-deserved winners of this year’s Nobel Peace after an anal exam that allegedly ‘proved’ his sexuality – Prize. homosexuality being illegal under Tunisian law. Tunisia was on the brink of civil war and it is safe to say I hope the Justice Minister will release Marwan that many lives were saved thanks to the work of a group immediately, end the practice of such degrading of four organisations. examinations and set in train a process whereby Tunisia decriminalises LGBT life. www.alynsmith.eu/peaceful_quartet_awarded_ nobel_prize www.alynsmith.eu/mep_alyn_pushes_lgbt_ decriminalisation_in_tunisia But Tunisia’s legal situation on LGBT rights is unacceptable. During my visit I delivered a letter to Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Ben Aissa from myself and my colleagues Barbara Lochbihler and Bodil Velero, @AlynSmithMEP The Auld Alliance Readers of The National may have seen coverage of my myth-busting weekend in Paris last month, where I discovered that, despite our Auld Alliance, France relies on London-based journalists for their coverage of Scotland. During my whistle-stop tour, I spoke to French media and academics to highlight that many Scots have a more positive view of Europe than our English counterparts. I was delighted to see Scotland get so much attention, Good chat, en français bien sûr , and even delivered the message in French! Link to the @TV5MONDE on Scotland’s view on National’s article below: #Brexit. Huge French interest in our perspective. www.alynsmith.eu/national_2015_10_france Catalonia In a ‘proxy referendum’ on Catalan independence, citizens went to the polling stations last month to choose their @AlynSmithMEP new government. I was fortunate enough to be invited on a high-profile delegation to observe the proceedings, but I have to admit, I wasn’t an impartial observer, as you can read in my Sunday Herald piece: www.alynsmith.eu/catalunya_is_a_nation_and_has_ the_right_to_choose Shortly before the vote, it emerged that there was a pretty spectacular difference between the Spanish translation of an answer from the European Commission on Catalan independence and the original version in English. I’ve written to the Commission seeking urgent Two gents earlier, one ‘Yes’, one ‘Not Yet’. clarification on the matter: European democracy has had a good night. www.alynsmith.eu/dirty_tricks_alleged_over_ Bravo #CataloniaVotes catalunya_in_eu_commission 2 Middle East Peace Process Time is running out for a two-state solution, and we urgently need a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. During September’s plenary debate on the EU’s role in the Middle East peace process, I pointed out that High Representative Federica Mogherini and the EU must act now. You can watch my speech here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hnr8UKuN-o and read my article for the Huffington Post here: www.alynsmith.eu/calling_palestine_palestine_ One of the sobering sights from my recent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in_the_european_parliament_is_actually_quite_ important Syria @AlynSmithMEP In the tragedy that is Syria it is difficult to know where to start. 310,000 killed, countless more lives ruined through injury or bereavement, 4.5 million refugees, 7 million internally displaced people - with the scale of this tragedy it is little wonder that the humanitarian consequences are quite literally washing up on our shores. The only way we can create a safe environment for people to return to is via a political solution. Russian intervention is not an option. Sergei Ivanov, the Kremlin’s chief of staff said “the military aim of our operations will exclusively be to provide air Ms May doesn’t speak for Scotland. I can’t support to Syrian government forces in the struggle imagine any Scottish Minister would ever be against ISIS”. And yet Russia attacks have been in areas so weaselly on #refugees. with no ISIS presence, against Free Syrian Army positions in Latakia, Homs, Hama and even Aleppo. You can watch my speech in plenary on Syria here: www.alynsmith.eu/syria_russia_political_solution_ www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM1YHzMjI2w not_airstrikes Helping the desperate is our only option published in destination. But I was there with a more sobering mission: to see how the migrant and refugee issues are impacting th 11 October 2015 upon the still-fragile democracy in Tunisia, and see for “Who are you and what are you doing here?” is not really myself the beach where an estimated 28,000 Tunisians how I’m used to being spoken to when on mission, but I have embarked since 2012, aiming for the Italian island of wasn’t going to argue with four men each with a casually Pantelleria. Some 1,500 of those didn’t make it, and the slung Kalashnikov to make up for, or perhaps bring on, Tunisian government has announced an inquiry into the the lack of manners. tragedy to try to give their relatives some sort of closure. I was outside Kelibia in northeast Tunisia, on a beautiful You can read my article in full at: sandy beach just up from an evidently upmarket holiday www.alynsmith.eu/herald_2015_10_refugees 3 Key votes Unfair Trading Practices Mass Surveillance National security should never be used as a pretext for It’s no secret I’m not happy with the way supermarkets mass surveillance: treat our farmers, so it was great to see Parliament www.alynsmith.eu/mass_surveillance_violates_ back my call for legislative action against Unfair Trading human_rights Practices. We need to stamp UTPs out across Europe, and this is a promising start. www.alynsmith.eu/_our_farmers_need_legal_ Cloning protection_against_unfair_trading_practices_says_ Parliament voted by 529 to 120 to pass a report on the alyn marketing of cloned food and the descendants of clones - there are some major issues around animal welfare and Protect our tartan! genetic diversity that need to be answered before we consider lifting the ban. Science should evolve in a lab, I live in Edinburgh and I’ve seen enough shonky plaid not in our food chain. masquerading as tartan to last me a lifetime. That’s why www.alynsmith.eu/comprehensive_ban_on_cloned_ I was pleased to see Parliament vote in favour of a non- food_approved binding resolution that would give tartan the same status as Dunlop cheese, Arbroath Smokies and Dundee cake. www.alynsmith.eu/protect_our_tartan Day in the life of an MEP In the Parliament... Do you want to find out more about the life of an MEP? Those clever folk at the European Parliament Information Parliament also played host to the King of Spain, German Office in Scotland put together a wee guide from me and Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Francois all the other Scottish MEPs, but I bet mine was the only Hollande. A gruel so thin it was virtually homeopathic one written from the back of a car in Jaffa! from President Hollande but we had a statement of more substance from Chancellor Merkel. “The EU’s response www.alynsmith.eu/day_in_the_life_2015 to the causes and consequences of the refugee crisis will change Europe... If our response to the migrant and refugee crisis forgets our human values, we will simply betray ourselves - nothing less.” SNP Conference Stay informed If you’re planning on heading along to SNP Conference It’s easy to keep in touch about my work on your behalf this week, I’ll be speaking at Global Justice Now’s fringe and on developments in the European Parliament: event on TTIP this Thursday. The latest news from the Commission is that they want to replace the Investor- State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism with… an [email protected] Investment Court System. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig… www.alynsmith.eu/_lipstick_on_the_isds_pig Techcube, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL You can also see me on Friday and Saturday, when I’ll be hosting my own fringe events.