Resolution on the serious violations of human rights on the Moluccas in Indonesia
Date: 1999-10-07
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Moluccas, diplomatic relations, ethnic conflict, forced migration, human rights, paramilitary force

13.4.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/105

Calls upon the Council to report upon its endeavours to encourage other arms-exporting States to

8.
subscribe to the principles of the Code of Conduct;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

9.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

Thursday 7 October 1999

3. Human rights: Moratorium on capital punishment

B5-0144, 0155, 0159, 0169 and 0171/1999

Resolution on the vote on the UN General Assembly resolution on the creation of a universal
moratorium on capital punishment

The European Parliament,

! having regard to its previous resolutions on the death penalty,

A.

B.

reaffirming that abolition of the death penalty will help to consolidate human dignity and gradually
extend the scope of human rights,

concerned at the threat of execution overhanging thousands of persons and at the plight of European
nationals condemned to death in third countries,

C.

extremely concerned at the death sentence passed on Mr Öcalan,

1.
Congratulates the Council, and in particular the Finnish Presidency, for having decided to submit to
the United Nations General Assembly, on behalf of the Union, a resolution on the abolition of the death
penalty;

Calls on the Finnish Presidency and on Member States to ensure that the text of the above resolution

2.
makes explicit reference to the future establishment of a universal moratorium on capital punishment;

3.
Considers it moreover of the highest importance for the above resolution to provide for the appoint-
ment of a special rapporteur instructed to ensure implementation of the resolution’s contents and propose
mechanisms and actions designed to ensure genuine implementation of the resolution;

4. Welcomes the abolition of the death penalty in certain countries, in particular those of central and
eastern Europe;

Expresses its concern at those countries that are proceeding to revive capital punishment despite

5.
having dispensed with it for many years;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the United

6.
Nations Secretary-General.

4. Human rights: The Moluccas

B5-0145, 0153, 0167 and 0172/1999

Resolution on the serious violations of human rights on the Moluccas in Indonesia

The European Parliament,

! having regard to its previous resolutions on Indonesia,

! having regard to the statement made by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on Indonesia in July 1999,

C 107/106

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.4.2000

Thursday 7 October 1999

A. whereas there is a need for urgent international attention to be paid to the escalating intra-community

conflict in and around Ambon in Indonesia’s Moluccan islands,

B. whereas, since November 1998, hundreds of people have died on the Moluccas and in other regions

in violent incidents, and whereas tens of thousands have fled,

C. whereas, despite the Indonesian Government’s undertakings,

in August, a further 65 people were
killed on Ambon (Moluccas), 242 were injured and thousands were made homeless, while up to
24 September there have been a further 40 fatalities, dozens of people have been injured and now
35 000 have fled,

D. whereas the number of violent incidents has sharply increased during the summer, and whereas such

incidents continue to occur in other parts of Indonesia such as Aceh, Irian Jaya and Riau,

E. whereas one of the causes of this violence is the enforced transfer of Indonesian citizens from other
areas, including Sulawesi (Celebes), to the Moluccas, as a result of which the old balance between
Muslims and Christians has been upset,

F. whereas the economic problems in the region have served to aggravate the situation, and whereas
measures designed to activate a more equitable distribution of the country’s wealth would play a
valuable role in the democratisation process,

G. whereas the Indonesian military units have failed to maintain order among the different communities,

and whereas this has resulted in further human suffering and serious human rights violations,

H.

emphasising the importance of supporting a peaceful dialogue between Christian and Muslim commu-
nities,

I. whereas armed militia groups on the Moluccas are actively provoking the local population and caus-
ing acts of violence, and whereas just as in Timor, they appear to be protected by the official army
units,

1.
Considers it essential that the delicate ethnic and religious balance of the Moluccas is preserved and
that acts of violence jeopardising this balance should therefore be dealt with by security personnel in a way
which is in accordance with international human rights standards and with the aim to reduce the existing
high level of tension;

Calls on the European Union to exert pressure on the Indonesian Government so that the people of

2.
the Moluccas may count on the full protection of the Indonesian military units stationed there;

Calls on the Indonesian Parliament to continue the process of reforming of the institutions of the

3.
country and expects a similar and parallel reform process in military and police;

Calls on the Indonesian Government to root out and disband the violent militias and to ensure that

4.
persons guilty of provocative acts, violence and murder are put on trial;

5.
Calls on the Indonesian Government to cooperate with the UN and the NGOs concerned with
human rights so as to ensure that objective reports are provided on the situation and on the cause and
extent of violence and that civil solutions may be found to repair the damage and restore civil order;

6.
Calls on the European Union to grant humanitarian aid, namely food and medicine, to the tens of
thousands of homeless people and, together with the NGOs, to help repair the outrages of burned houses
and villages so that people may resume their normal lives as soon as possible;

13.4.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/107

Thursday 7 October 1999

7.
Calls on the European Union to discuss with the Indonesian Government the issue of the forced
transfer of Indonesian citizens to other islands because it is this ! and not only on the Moluccas but
also in other areas such as Irian Jaya ! which has an unsettling effect and encourages violence and may,
in future, cause even more misery in Indonesia;

8.
Calls on the European Union to do its utmost to help to promote democracy and human rights in
Indonesia, with the Indonesian army being made subordinate to the government and ethnic and religious
minorities respected and protected in accordance with the Indonesian Constitution;

9.
Calls on the European Union to maintain pressure on the Indonesian Government to continue along
the path towards reform and democracy and respect for regional autonomy as part of the democratic
structures of Indonesia;

Calls on the Commission and Council to envisage, with the UN and the Indonesian Government,
10.
a programme aimed at rebuilding a civil society which respects the ethnic and religious balance of Indo-
nesia’s Moluccan islands;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Indonesian

11.
Parliament and Government, the Secretary-General of the UN and the ASEAN.

5. Human rights: Belarus

B5-0146, 0154, 0164 and 0173/1999

Resolution on the situation in Belarus

The European Parliament,

! having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Belarus,

! having regard to the Council declaration of 15 September 1997,

A. whereas, according to the 1994 Constitution, the mandate of President Lukashenko expired on 20 July
1999, and whereas no other legitimate, democratic structures have been in force since their abolition
by President Lukashenko following a controversial referendum held in 1996; whereas parliamentary
elections are scheduled for the year 2000,

B. noting that opposition politicians continue to be denied access to the state-controlled printed and
electronic media and that even access to the newest media such as the Internet is completely prohib-
ited,

C. deeply concerned about the still unsolved cases concerning the disappearance of Victor Gonchar, dep-
uty speaker of the Thirteenth Supreme Council, and Anatoly Krasovsky, head of the ‘Kraiska’ publish-
ing house, who were last seen on 16 September 1999, as well as that of the former head of Belarus
National Bank, Tamara Vinnikova, and the former Minister of Internal Affairs, General Yuri Zakhar-
enko,

D. noting, furthermore, that the former Prime Minister, Mikhail Chyhir, is being held in prison on the

charge of abuse of office for which, however, no proof has yet been found,

E.

F.

G.

noting, furthermore, that some managers of enterprises were recently arrested in an apparent attempt
to increase State control over those enterprises,

concerned about the mounting criminalisation of journalists of the independent press, which has led
inter alia to the imposition on the major independent journal ‘Naviny’ of a fine of about US$ 20 000
and to a threat of closure being made on behalf of the President himself,

emphasising once again that the European Union, by way of a Partnership and Cooperation Agree-
ment with Belarus, has sought to reinforce its relations with Belarus and to give its full support to the
necessary process of economic and democratic reform in that country,