such cooperation has not been matched by improvements on the ground. It was dismayed by the
December 1998 crackdown on dissidents and in August 1999 expressed its concern at the harsh sentenceshanded down to members of the China Democratic Party.
The Council continues to see the EU-human rights dialogue, the next meeting of which should take place
in the week beginning 18 October in Beijing, as well as the cooperation programme in the field of human
rights, as important instruments for fostering respect for human rights in China. But, as the Council has
stressed, the dialogue is not an end in itself. There must be concrete results on the ground. The Council istherefore seeking to make the dialogue more focused on issues of priority, more regular and more orientedtowards securing concrete improvements.
(2000/C 27 E/153) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1549/99
by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council
(1 September 1999)
Subject: Presidential elections in Togo
Is the Council aware that a number of members of Amnesty International have been detained by the
Togolese authorities following the publication of a report by AI which reveals compelling evidence thatintimidation, torture and extrajudicial executions were commonplace during and after the 1998 presiden-
tial election campaign?
What pressure will the Council bring to bear the Togolese authorities given the demands for upholding
democratic rights and principles placed on signatory nationals of the Fourth LomØ Convention in Article 5?
Reply
(8 November 1999)
1. The Council has been apprised of the fact that Mr Pierre SanØ, Secretary-General of Amnesty
International, recently received a summons to appear before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of LomØ on15 November 1999 for a possible indictment for contempt, incitement to revolt, dissemination of falsenews and conspiracy against the external security of the State.
The Union has reiterated on a number of occasions its commitment to the protection of human rights in
Togo and will continue to insist that perpetrators of human rights abuses be brought to justice.
2. In its response to the question the Honourable Member put to the Council last year regarding the
Presidential elections in Togo in June 1998, the Council referred to different reactions in whichdisappointment was expressed at the way these elections had been conducted, namely the declaration of26 June 1998 and the consultations that were held with the Togolese Government on the basis of Article366a of the revised LomØ IV Convention.
Since then, an inter-Togolese dialogue between the government and the opposition political parties was
prepared and was held between 19 and 29 July 1999 in LomØ. This dialogue was accompanied byfacilitators of the international organisation for the French-speaking world and the European Union. At theend of that meeting a Framework Agreement of LomØ was signed by all participants. That Agreementprovides, inter alia, for the following: legislative election after dissolution of the National Assemblyin March 2000 to be organised by an independent Commission, access of all political groups to the publicmedia and the return and safety of refugees.
The Council is currently following closely this new situation and reiterates its willingness to assist in a
process which encourages the development of democracy in Togo and secures the absence of humanrights violations to which the Honourable Member refers in his question.C 27 E/126 EN 29.1.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities