European Parliament
Van den Berg (PSE ).
(NL)
Mr President, it was two years ago that, on the night of 26 and 27 October, the ferry
Le Joola
sank off the coast of Senegal. Officially, this tragedy claimed the lives of 1863 people, the most of whose bodies, to this day, lie unidentified at the bottom of the sea. Surviving relatives, including the relatives of the Dutch victims Roel and Lisette Arendshorst, have made repeated appeals to both the Senegalese President Wade and European politicians to take action in order to recover the victims of
Le Joola
. In principle, President Wade responded favourably to this here in this House a year ago. On various occasions in this House, we have also asked the Commission to take action. I would therefore make a fresh appeal to the Commission, the Council and President Wade of Senegal. The relatives of the victims are entitled to take leave of their loved ones in a dignified manner. They are asking for a final resting place where they can grieve, and alongside this, they are also enquiring about the possibility of identifying the victims. Mr President, I am directly appealing to your respect for the values mentioned in the European Constitution. Respect for human dignity requires support from the European Union ...

