B4-0514, 0533 and 0545/98

Resolution on human rights in south-east Asia

The European Parliament,

A. whereas social unrest in Indonesia has steadily grown in the aftermath of the reappointment of President Suharto to a seventh term in March 1998 and as a result of unemployment and sharp increases in consumer prices following the financial crisis in the region,

B. whereas the ongoing political protests are centred on university campuses but are spreading to other parts of society,

C. whereas several people have been killed, including six students on 12 May 1998, and more than a hundred wounded in clashes between security forces and demonstrators,

D. whereas there are reports of torture, arrests and forced disappearances of activists who have demonstrated against President Suharto;

E. whereas the country's Chinese minority has been especially targeted,

F. whereas the recent economic crisis in Asia puts additional strain on the situation of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons in south-east Asia;

G. noting the decision of the Malaysian authorities to repatriate tens of thousands of, mainly Indonesian, foreign workers in response to the economic crisis;

H. whereas the deportation has met with resistance from immigrants from Indonesia¨s Aceh province, who say that they are political refugees from the separatist revolt there and would face serious repression on their return;

I. concerned by reports that around 500 Acehnese deportees are now being held incommunicado at TanTancung Military Detention Centre in Aceh;

J. deeply concerned by the deaths of eight Indonesians and a policeman during rioting in a detention centre for illegal immigrants by people opposed to the deportation policy;

K. whereas, on 31 March 1998, 14 Indonesians sought political asylum in the UNHCR offices and, on 10 April 1998, a further eight sought refuge in the US Embassy;

L. concerned that 27 Acehnese asylum seekers who took refuge in the French, Swiss and Bruneian embassies have been turned over to the Malaysian police;

M. whereas the UNHCR has criticized Malaysia's policy of treating all illegal immigrants as economic migrants without any screening of individual cases;

N. noting with concern the imposition, on 1 April 1998, of two concurrent 18-month prison terms by the Appeal Court on opposition MP Lim Guan Eng, a sentence against which he is appealing to the Federal Court;

O. whereas, if the sentence becomes binding, Lim Guan Eng will forfeit his seat in Parliament;

P. whereas the sentence relates to written and spoken statements reflecting public disquiet over the handling of a rape case; whereas Lim Guan Eng has been singled out and others who have criticized the handling of the case, including Marina Mahathir, the Prime Minister¨s daughter, have not been prosecuted;

The European Parliament,

1. Recalls its firm commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law;

2. Reiterates its view that sustainable trade, investment and economic development cannot be achieved in the absence of the development of democracy, the rule of law, civil society and human rights;

3. Welcomes international involvement in dealing with the financial crisis, which promotes reforms of political and economic institutions and alleviates the social consequences of the crisis;

4. Calls on the Commission and Council to increase their efforts to help cushion the social impact of the crisis,

Indonesia

5. Is convinced that political and economic reform must go hand in hand if Indonesia is to regain the confidence of its people and economic actors;

6. Condemns all use of violence and calls on the Indonesian authorities to show the utmost restraint when dealing with demonstrators and to protect the Chinese minority from being further victimized;

7. Calls on the Indonesian government to release all those arrested for taking part in peaceful political protest and to reform the laws and decrees that currently prohibit such protests;

8. Calls on the Indonesian government immediately to investigate all killings and reports of forced disappearances and of torture, and to prosecute those responsible;

Malaysia

9. Calls on the Malaysian authorities to accept the UNHCR's offer to screen applicants for political asylum individually so as not to violate the principle of 'non-refoulement¨;

10. Calls for a full investigation into the deaths of Indonesian immigrants in detention centres;

11. Condemns the handing over of Acehnese asylum seekers to the Malaysian authorities;

12. Believes that Lim Guan Eng has been sentenced to jail for fulfilling his constitutional duty as a parliamentarian to carry out oversight of the functioning of government and judiciary and to speak out in cases of violation of human rights and in particular women's rights;

13. Hopes that the Malaysian authorities and, in particular, the Federal Court, will not uphold the Appeal Court¨s sentence on statements not considered to be offences when made in similar terms by others;

14. Calls on the Malaysian authorities to reconsider laws which allow a parliamentarian to be imprisoned for fulfilling his mandate;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of Indonesia and Malaysia.

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