P6_TA(2007)0057

Guinea

European Parliament resolution on Guinea

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. gravely concerned by President Lansana Conté's declaration of a state of emergency on 13 February 2007 following the general strike launched on 10 January 2007 by Guinea's trade unions and civil society concerning economic and social claims and the violent repression by security forces of a peaceful demonstration held on 17 January 2007 in Conakry,

B. concerned by the recent violence during which security forces clashed with protestors asking President Conté, who took power in a 1984 coup d'état, to appoint an independent Prime Minister and hand over all his presidential powers,

C. whereas President Conté has declared a "state of siege", which includes a 20-hour-a-day curfew, a ban on processions, marches and demonstrations, as well as public and private meetings, and which authorises day and night searches, giving the army extensive powers to take "all the necessary measures",

D. whereas violent repression by the army's special forces, in particular the "Mobile Company for Intervention and Security" and the "Autonomous Battalion for Presidential Security", has caused a large number of victims, whereas there are allegations of the presence of mercenaries and former guerilla fighters working as paramilitary government forces,

E. whereas President Conté's appointment of Mr Eugène Camara as Prime Minister on 9 February 2007 was not in accordance with the agreement of 27 January 2007 signed by the government and the unions, which called for a "consensus Prime Minister" with extensive executive powers for a three-year transition period during which parliamentary and presidential elections would be organised, and has consequently led to continued violence and lawlessness throughout Guinea,

F. whereas since 2005 there have been several incidents in which Guinean security forces have fired on unarmed demonstrators, notably in June 2006, when the government responded to demonstrations against the rising prices of basic commodities with a brutal crackdown during which the police and soldiers gunned down at least 13 unarmed demonstrators,

G. whereas Guinea is endowed with gold, iron and bauxite, as well as fertile land and water resources, including fish stocks, which could have contributed to improving the population's living standards if democratic accountability had prevailed in the country,

1. Strongly condemns the disproportionate and excessive use of force by the Guinean security forces during the recent demonstrations in various parts of the country, which resulted in the death of many civilians, the wounding of several demonstrators and the detention of trade union leaders and others;

2. Stresses the importance of appointing a consensus Prime Minister, in accordance with the undertakings given by President Conté;

3. Calls for the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry, overseen by the United Nations, to investigate the recent killings as well as past human rights abuses, and to identify those responsible and bring them to justice in order to put an end to this impunity;

4. Calls on the Guinean authorities to order the immediate release of all persons arrested during the demonstration without being properly legally charged and, if such charges exist, to ensure that such persons are given a prompt and fair trial, in which their procedural rights are guaranteed at all times;

5. Calls for individual and trade union freedoms to be respected and restored and for the authoritarian abuses which have marked President Conté's regime for 23 years to cease; calls for negotiations to be opened with civil society organisations and trade unions with a view to a negotiated settlement of claims;

6. Calls on the Guinean authorities to put an immediate stop to the killings and calls for a democratic transition towards a system corresponding to the aspirations of the Guinean people;

7. Calls on the Commission to envisage the political dialogue provided for in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, the Government of Guinea and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

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