WRITTEN QUESTION E-1538/00 by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission. Nepal.
Date: 2000-05-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Commission Delegation, Nepal

C 46 E/200

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.2.2001

(2001/C 46 E/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1538/00

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission

(18 May 2000)

Subject: Nepal

Nepal is a country with a population of over 20 million and rather unstable political institutions, where
600 people already have been killed in the course of an uprising by (cid:145)Maoists(cid:146) who have taken control of
some regions of the country. Nepal is strongly affected by the presence of its powerful and fundamentally
undemocratic neighbour, the People(cid:146)s Republic of China, and is also one of the poorest countries on Earth.

For these and other reasons, the European Union pays particularly close attention to Nepal. In particular,
the Commission supports a large number of projects there, which a Commission representative based in
Delhi is responsible for following up.

Could the Commission state the reasons (cid:129) which in this instance do not seem to involve budgetary
considerations (cid:129) why the Commission(cid:146)s representative for Nepal has to be based in New Delhi rather than
Katmandu?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(9 June 2000)

The Commission handles its relations with Nepal from its Delegation in New Delhi since that Delegation
has regional responsibilities.

The Commission is currently examining its political priorities for the possible opening of new delegations
and offices in third countries. Once such priorities are established, it will be a question of allocating the
available human and financial resources. A communication will be sent to the Council and Parliament on
these matters during the course of this year.

The Commission cannot therefore, at this stage, enter into any undertaking about establishing a presence
in Nepal.

(2001/C 46 E/239)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1540/00

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission

(5 May 2000)

Subject: Science and Research Foundation

On 12 November 1999 the Istanbul police arrested 85 members of the Science and Research Foundation.
Of these, 35 have been charged by the State Security Court with endangering state security. 28 of them
were released after a week in prison in which they were subjected to various forms of torture and forced to
sign a confession. Seven persons are still being held: Mr Adnan Oktar, Honorary President of the
Foundation, Mr Firat Develioglu, Mr Hasan Basri Guner, Mr Ferhat Terkoglu, Mr Halil Muftuoglu,
Mr Timur Ayan and Mr Finre Nil. When they first appeared before the State Security Court on 7 April
the President of the Court rejected the State Prosecutor(cid:146)s plea for them to be released and deferred a
decision on this matter until a hearing due to take place on 2 June.

Is the Commission aware of these developments? If so, what initiatives has it taken (cid:129) or does it intend to
take (cid:129) to ensure that the persons who have been charged enjoy all the guarantees of a fair trial and are
held in acceptable conditions of detention pending trial? Does it intend to be represented at the trial on
2 June?