Kosovo  When he says that all the policies are not decided by Canada, of course they are not. There are 19 countries, the United States, France, Great Britain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and many others. Nobody dictates to anyone what to do.

Kosovo  Speaker, if the member thinks that the President of the United States, the President of France, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the Prime Ministers of Greece and Italy and the Prime Minister of Canada will be in Washington for three days to have cocktails, he should be ashamed of himself. This person pretends that he is a responsible member of parliament.

Kosovo  If this were to happen Kosovo would only be a small part of what would become a very major problem. The issue would embrace not only Kosovo, but Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and so on. I mention these issues only to show how incredibly interconnected ethnicity, politics and geography are in the southern Balkans. When I was there I visited nine classrooms.

Kosovo  When I heard about the uranium I was concerned, not because of the people in Serbia but because of the people in Italy, France, Greece, Albania and all over that region. When Mr. Aragona, head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was before the foreign affairs committee, I asked him a few questions which I will repeat in the House.

Kosovo  It does not matter where the conflict is in the world, whether it be the conflict between my home country of Greece and Turkey, or Cyprus and the invading armies, whether they are Serbians or Rwandans, whether the conflict is here in Canada or it in America about 140 years ago, the fact of the matter is that NATO has chosen to go in.

Kosovo  Was it the partisans not only of Serbia, but the partisans in Italy, or the partisans in France, or the partisans in Greece? I could go on and on. He mentioned nothing about it. The member talked about the Battle of Britain. Has my hon. colleague dismissed all the people under hardship during that period of our history, or has he simply chosen to ignore them?

Kosovo  Speaker, there is unease within NATO among some of the 19 member countries. Countries like Italy, Greece and the Czech republic are committed, but there has been a certain trepidation in their commitment. The commitment of ground troops would further strain what is already a commitment with significant concern and reservation.

Kosovo  There would be many casualties and as mission creep evolved there would be comparisons with Vietnam. There are several NATO countries which might back out. Greece, Italy and the Czech republic are already lukewarm at best. I believe that NATO was right in principle to intervene. We should not hide behind the antiquated 19th century notion of national security solely as a foreign policy imperative.

Greek People  The people of Greece-birthplace of western civilisation, especially in the fields of arts and science-were oppressed by the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years without ever losing sight of their quest for independence.

Supply  This is really a debate about national identity and the preservation of national identity. As far back in time as money began, in the ancient city states of Greece, money represented and contained on it the images of the state. Usually on one side was a god or goddess and on the other side, some symbol of the state. In Roman times, the Romans put the effigy of Caesar on their coinage.

Peacekeeping  Should the situation in Kosovo worsen, the risk of neighbouring states getting drawn into the conflict would also rise. Albania, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, as well as Greece, Turkey or even more distant powers such as Russia and Iran could conceivably become involved. Twice in this century brush fires in the Balkans have resulted in war in Europe. Canadians are not blind to the lessons of history.

Armenians  Its contempt has been displayed in its reluctance to apply the principles of international law in its ongoing disputes with Greece; the continued illegal occupation by Turkey of part of Cypress; the profound violation of human rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey; the lack of respect for human rights, individual collective freedoms, attacks on journalists and others, attacks on freedom of religion; the continued imprisonment of elected members of parliament like Leyla Zana and others.

Holidays Act  For some of us 1867 may seem like a long time ago but in reality, when we compare it to countries like Greece or European countries, our history is quite young. It is very important that a country, as it is evolving, evolves symbols of its unity as symbols of its people. I do not think there is any stronger symbol in Canada than our flag.

Citizenship Of Canada Act  It is not clear and I suspect we are one of the few countries in the world where people actually ask what it means to be a Canadian. I cannot imagine someone in Greece asking what it means to be a Greek or somebody from Italy asking what it means to be Italian. They know these things but it is not as clear here because of the kind of country we are.

Export Of Arms  Why should a government that otherwise professes to be seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict between Turkey and Greece, or the Turkish government and the Kurdish community in Turkey for that matter, be arming the Turkish government? The same could be said of the dramatic cuts in Canadian development assistance under the Liberals.