WRITTEN QUESTION No. 588/98 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Incident in Equatorial Guinea
Date: 1998-03-04
Institutions: European Parliament, IMAZ SAN MIGUEL
Subjects: EU relations, Equatorial Guinea, European political cooperation, Lomé Convention, democratisation, dictatorship, ethnic group, government violence, human rights, protection of minorities













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91998E0588

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 588/98 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Incident in Equatorial Guinea  


Official Journal C 310 , 09/10/1998 P. 0097 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0588/98 by Josu Imaz San Miguel (PPE) to the Commission (4 March 1998)Subject: Incident in Equatorial GuineaFollowing the recent incident in Equatorial Guinea on the morning of 21 January 1998 in Luba, on the island of Bioko (Equatorial Guinea), bearing in mind the confusion surrounding the events, the limited and partisan information released and the brutal and repressive response by the dictatorial regime of Mr Obiang, in the form of arrests, rape, torture, widespread looting and killing, suffered by the Bubi people and the organization representing them, the MAIB, and in view of the recent visit to the country by a Commission delegation, what is the Commission's position on this grave attack and the persistent breaches of human rights suffered by the Bubi people and representatives of the MAIB and what actions or measures has it taken vis-à-vis Mr Obiang's regime to end the repression of the Bubi people and the MAIB?What representations has the Commission made to the rest of the international community, both governments and agencies, in an effort to end this situation?What assistance will the Commission lend to the Bubi people and the MAIB to enable them to work on an equal footing for the democratization of the country and to fight for their survival as a people?Does the Commission believe that the conditions exist to warrant releasing EU cooperation aid for Equatorial Guinea?Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (2 April 1998)In talks with the government of Equatorial Guinea on the events referred to by the Honourable Member, the Commission, working closely with the Member States, has voiced grave concern at the serious human rights violations on these occasions by the police.Following a number of approaches by the Commission, the authorities said that those who had violated human rights would be tried and punished. In addition, those found guilty of the armed attack against the police on 21 January would be brought to a public trial which Community observers could attend.The best way to protect minorities is through the establishment of democracy. The Commission would stress the need to protect human rights whether the individuals involved belong to minorities or not. It would also point to the importance of respect for the cultural identity and rights of minorities which they must be able to exercise together with other members of their group.The gradual resumption of cooperation with Equatorial Guinea depends on the progress it makes on respecting human rights, democratic principle and the rule of law, in accordance with Article 5 of the fourth Lomé Convention.