European Parliament resolution on the aftermath of the massacre of the royal family in Nepal
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Nepal, constitutional monarchy, cooperation agreement (EU), political situation, political violence, the EU's international role

C 53 E/410

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

28.2.2002

Thursday 14 June 2001

23. Nepal

B5-0428, 0435, 0443, 0460 and 0469/2001

European Parliament resolution on the aftermath of the massacre of the royal family in Nepal

The European Parliament,

A. deeply shocked and saddened at the terrible events which took place on Friday, 1 June 2001 at the
Narayanhiti Royal Palace in Nepal which resulted in the death or injury of 14 members of the royal
family, including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, and other close relatives,

B.

conscious that the death of the royal family has further complicated the internal political situation,

C. whereas immediately after the tragedy became known, people throughout the country were confined

to their homes and all meetings were prohibited,

D. whereas, in the ensuing violence, the police fired live bullets and several people were killed, dozens

injured and hundreds arrested,

E. whereas, for the first time since the establishment of democracy, the entire editorial board of the main
Nepalese daily newspaper was arrested for (cid:145)treason(cid:146), thereby placing freedom of expression in the
country under threat,

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

aware that the late King Birenda enjoyed great popularity and was regarded by many as an anchor of
stability in Nepal, particularly since he ceded absolute power in favour of a constitutional monarchy in
1990 with a multi-party parliament,

conscious of the important responsibility, under the present difficult circumstances, that King Gyan-
endra who has succeeded King Birendra now bears as a constitutional monarch and head of state and
the need now for stability in Nepal,

aware of the importance in this regard for the people of Nepal of a rapid, full and transparent inves-
tigation into the tragic events which occurred in the Narayanhiti Royal Place and welcomes in this
regard the setting up of the special commission to investigate the massacre at the Palace,

conscious of the special and warm relations between the EU and Nepal and the fact that the EU is an
important trading partner and that through the EC-Nepal Cooperation strategy the EU is providing
assistance to help develop the country, particularly through measures aimed at combating poverty,

conscious of the importance of ensuring also that the recent appalling events do not detract from the
efforts being made by the Joint Verification Team of Nepal and Bhutan to resolve the complex issue of
the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal,

Conveys its deepest sympathy to the royal family, the people and parliament of Nepal following the

1.
terrible shootings in the Narayanhiti Royal Palace and expresses its shock at these events;

2.
Expects that King Gyanendra together with the Government of Nepal will, in a multi-party democ-
racy and fully respecting the principles laid down in the country(cid:146)s constitution, do all that is necessary to
restore confidence;

3.
Calls for the commission of inquiry chaired by the President of the Supreme Court, Keshav Prasad
Upadhaya, to include judges, government and opposition representatives as well as international observers,
in order to discover exactly what happened, and to restore the confidence of citizens, and calls on the
commission of inquiry into the massacre to submit its report in due time;

Expects all political and civic forces to unite in order to allow for relevant security measures to be

4.
taken with a view to restoring internal political stability;

28.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 53 E/411

Thursday 14 June 2001

5.
Considers, at this critical time in the history of Nepal, that it is essential that the European Union
demonstrate its support for the people of Nepal, by strengthening its commitment through the EC-Nepal
Development Cooperation Agreement, the establishment of a fully-fledged EU delegation office in Kath-
mandu and renewed encouragement for the efforts of both Nepal and Bhutan to satisfactorily resolve, at an
early stage, the situation of the Bhutanese refugees, including accelerating the work of the (cid:145)Joint Verifica-
tion Team(cid:146);

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of

6.
the Member States and the government and parliament of Nepal.

24. Situation in Angola

B5-0445, 0453, 0461 and 0470/2001

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Angola

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on Angola,

(cid:129) having regard to the resolutions of the UN Security Council,

(cid:129) having regard to the peace process launched by the UN,

(cid:129) having regard to the Bicesse peace accords and the Lusaka Protocol,

(cid:129) having regard to the joint position of the European Council adopted on 19 July 2000 in Santa Maria

da Feira,

(cid:129) having regard to the declaration by the Swedish Presidency of 29 May 2001, and the statement by the

General Affairs Council of 11 June 2001,

A.

appalled at the continuing civil war in Angola, which has now been going for over 20 years and has
claimed thousands of victims,

B. whereas, in spite of the country(cid:146)s significant natural resources, some of which have been used to
finance the conflict, the population in Angola continues to live in conditions of abject poverty,

C.

concerned for international peace and security in the region,

D.

aware of the dreadful impact of this war on the country(cid:146)s civil society, human progress and economic
development,

E. whereas the humanitarian situation in Angola is steadily deteriorating,

F. whereas peace and national reconciliation can only be guaranteed by peaceful means and never by

seeking a military solution,

G. whereas bodies representing civil society and the religious institutions operating in Angola in particu-

lar the Roman Catholic Church, have been working for peace for many years,

H. whereas the international community has a duty to highlight and encourage all the independent civic

efforts which Angolan civil society may make in a spirit of goodwill,