Mr. Speaker, today is a very important day in the life of Jewish people. Today is Yom Ha Zicharon, the day of remembrance. It starts tonight and continues tomorrow. It is a day to remember what took place in Europe from 1933 on and in particular Yom Ha Shoah, the Holocaust that took place. Last week was Yom Ha Shoah at which time the survivors told their stories. This week is Yom Ha Zicharon which is a remembrance of our soldiers who perished during that time.
As I have watched this whole question of ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity, I can only say that we all watched with wrenched hearts and with an unfortunate reminder that this world has not learned. Following the end of the second world war in 1945 we said that never again would anything like this happen and passed a law on genocide. It is very unfortunate that the never again has not been realized.
I have heard criticism here of the United Nations. I would suggest that there is something wrong in the security council and with the way the veto vote works, but there is not something wrong with the UN itself.
We all know there have been approaches time after time in the security council for action to be taken and for the United Nations to become involved. It was turned down each time. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs has raised the issue on at least three occasions. There was a prior vote that indicated that the world approved of what we were doing but there were internal interests that prevented a move forward. The Russian vote or potential veto was a very important factor.
I have just returned from a week in Brussels. We devoted our time to issues about nuclear weapons and about the problems that confront the major cities. The major concern and attention was on Kosovo. Over 130 nations expressed their concerns. Yes, there were a few that supported the Yugoslav position, Mr. Milosevic's position. For the most part there was unanimous agreement that this war must stop. Not once was there a call for ground troops at this time.
This is such an evolving situation and it is a very difficult one. I heard the remarks made by Mr. Stroyev, the leader of the Russian delegation who suggested a joint commission for refugees and a special role for the parliaments of the NATO countries. He also said that the Yugoslav people should not be punished for the actions of President Milosevic. But if Mr. Milosevic is not stopped, the people of the region will continue to be punished by him. We cannot stand by and let this happen. The NATO action is not designed to punish Milosevic according to the Russian speaker, it is designed to put a stop to his abhorrent policy of ethnic cleansing.
I am sure we all recognize the major role Russia has to play in reaching a settlement to the crisis. We hope it will play a major peacekeeping role in the area when the fighting is over. We share a common interest with Russia in reaching a political solution to the crisis, and the sooner the better.
When I listened to the discussions, there were many expressions of serious concern. Why are hundreds of thousands of people, old men, women and helpless children fleeing in terror from Kosovo? Are they fleeing from the NATO bombs? I would say no. They are fleeing from President Milosevic and his ethnic cleansing.
Young male Kosovar Albanians are being forcibly separated from their families. This is a cause of great concern. Where are they? What will happen to them? What are they doing? Some of us have just seen that they are digging graves. That is quite disturbing. We know what happened when similar events occurred in Srebrenica. All the men were massacred. This question demands an immediate answer from the Yugoslav authorities.
Some parliamentarians say that a terrible human tragedy has been inflicted upon the people of Kosovo and Yugoslavia due to the brutality of their leader Milosevic. This was a situation that could not be tolerated and indeed demands were made for a resolution to the plight of the Kosovar people.
I think we all know as the debates in the House have demonstrated, that the Canadian people, Canadian parliamentarians and the Canadian government, as well as all NATO partners, would have preferred that the conflict be resolved through dialogue and negotiations. But President Milosevic has frustrated every attempt to find a solution.
There are no quick fixes in Yugoslavia and in Kosovo. We know that. NATO's air campaign will continue until Milosevic agrees to an international military presence in Kosovo that can ensure the safe return of the refugees created by his program of ethnic cleansing. He has systematically violated international humanitarian law by launching a campaign against civilians which includes killing and torturing, arbitrary detention and the denial of basic rights based on ethnicity. That is what happened in 1933. The world did not react then. We have evolved. We are in a position to see change. For that we should all be grateful.
Milosevic is also contravening two security council resolutions, resolutions 1199 and 1203 which impose a clear obligation on the Yugoslavian federation to respect a ceasefire and protect the civilian population.
Canada has lobbied intensively over the past year for greater United Nations Security Council engagement in Kosovo. Clearly it would have been best if the UN could have facilitated an end to the conflict in Kosovo. However, the Russians have made it clear that they would have blocked any UN Security Council's condemning of that ethnic cleansing.
And so NATO moved ahead, and thank God it did for the ethnic Kosovars in Yugoslavia. NATO was able to save at least most of that population. The refugee situation is very disturbing. That is true. That country was challenged by a misguided leader. We know this is not his first attack on the people there. Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia; a lot of history has gone on in that area.
I would sincerely hope when this government comes to a conclusion that it has no choice but to consider those ground troops and it asks for our opinion on that matter, we will all be of one voice and support that move in the interest of the ethnic Albanians. With respect to the plight of the Kosovar Albanians, please note that the overall Canadian policy and goal is a negotiated settlement based on the Rambouillet agreement and that our overriding concern is humanitarian.
In the interests of international humanitarian law, the right and the obligation to go into a country not because it has its own sovereignty but because its population is at risk is an issue we must support. This world over the last generation has been one of serious problems whether we are looking at Africa, Asia, Latin America or right now as we see in Kosovo.
NATO's role was a vital one. I am most pleased we have supported it to date. I sincerely hope the wish of Kofi Annan, the wish of this parliament, the wish of our minister and the wish of our Prime Minister is realized through negotiation, and that if we do send ground troops that they will be peacemakers and peacekeepers. I hope we do not have the kind of intervention that is so dramatic, so dangerous and so costly both to our own people and to the people who are suffering right now as ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, in Albania, in all the countries in that area.
I hope this parliament and its members will understand why we are not taking a vote right now. The situation changes daily. The promise of the Prime Minister is one I know he will respect and keep. Let us hope for a peaceful solution.