European Parliament resolution on Aung San Suu Kyi and Leyla Zana, winners of the Sakharov prize
Date: 2001-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Myanmar/Burma, Türkiye, diplomatic relations, human rights, opposition, political prisoner, political violence

25.7.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 177 E/317

Thursday 13 December 2001

5.
Calls on President Eyadema to ensure that his government and the National Assembly comply with
the Lomé framework agreement signed by the opposition parties and the President’s regime in July 1999;

Calls on the Togolese authorities to put an end to the climate of impunity in Togo and to identify
6.
and bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations as established by the UN-OAU inquiry;

7.
Calls on the EU to continue scrutinising respect for human rights and democratic principles in Togo
and to make the resumption of normal cooperation relations conditional on substantial progress being
achieved in these areas;

8.
Draws the Togolese authorities’ attention to the fact that the only way of normalising cooperation
relations between Togo and the European Union is to guarantee respect for human rights and to promote
the rule of law;

Calls on the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to send a joint mission to Togo to look into

9.
human rights issues and to hold talks with the regime and the opposition, including Mr Agboyibo;

Calls for all obstacles to freedom of expression to be removed and for an end to be put to repress-

10.
ive action and threats against the opposition;

11. Welcomes the decrees recently issued by the Togolese Presidency, which set new dates for the
revision of the electoral rolls and for the first round of the parliamentary elections, which is now to be
held on 10 March 2002;

Calls on the government to guarantee all political parties free access to the media, and to guarantee

12.
the members of all political parties freedom of movement throughout the country;

Reiterates its support for the electoral process, provided that all candidates are able to participate

13.
freely in the elections, and stresses that EU financial aid is conditional upon this requirement being met;

Calls on Togo to sign the memorandum of understanding required for the deployment of European

14.
electoral observers;

Calls on the Commission to report to it on the European Union’s contribution to the electoral

15.
process;

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

16.
Togo and the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

24. Human rights: Winners of the Sakharov prize

B5-0769, 0779, 0792, 0797, 0806 and 0809/2001

European Parliament resolution on Aung San Suu Kyi and Leyla Zana, winners of the Sakharov
prize

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the Treaty on European Union refers to the development and consolidation of democracy and
the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as some of the principal
objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy,

B. whereas since 1988 the Sakharov Prize has been awarded to personalities and organisations which
have made a decisive contribution to the struggle for human rights and freedoms in their respective
countries,

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Thursday 13 December 2001

I. Aung San Suu Kyi

A. whereas Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize in 1990,

B. whereas Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1990 Burmese elections, is still held under house arrest

by the military regime in Rangoon, and some 1 600 political prisoners remain in detention,

Calls for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and for the full exercise of her rights to be

1.
guaranteed;

Considers that Aung San Suu Kyi is a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted for expressing

2.
her peaceful beliefs;

3.

Calls for the immediate release of all the other political prisoners in Burma;

4.
Calls on the Council and the Commission closely to monitor the human rights situation in Burma
and to press the Burmese authorities and government for information about the personal situation of
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Sakharov prize-winner;

Calls on its President to assure Aung San Suu Kyi once again that the entire European Parliament

5.
stands behind her;

6.
Considers Aung San Suu Kyi the only legitimate elected leader of the Burmese people and insists that
the Burmese regime demonstrate its intention to restore democracy and bring about national reconciliation
by initiating a broad political dialogue and rapidly releasing the political prisoners;

Demands that the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi be guaranteed full freedom to organise itself and

7.
engage in political activity and calls for all restrictions on her freedom of movement to be lifted;

II. Leyla Zana

A. whereas Leyla Zana was awarded the Sakharov Prize in 1995,

B. whereas Leyla Zana is still in prison in Turkey, although the European Court of Human Rights, in its
decision of 17 July 2001 in the Sadak, Zana, Dicle and Dogan case, concluded unanimously that the
legal procedure that had led to Leyla Zana being sentenced to a prison sentence of 15 years had not
respected her fundamental right to a fair trial, as provided in the European Convention on Human
Rights,

1.

Calls for the immediate release of Leyla Zana;

Considers that Leyla Zana is a prisoner of conscience who has been prosecuted for expressing her

2.
peaceful beliefs;

Calls for the immediate release of all the other political prisoners in Turkey, and notably Selim Sadak,
3.
Hatip Dicle and Orhan Dogan, the three other former Turkish MPs of Kurdish origin sentenced together
with Leyla Zana;

4.
Calls on the Council and the Commission closely to monitor the human rights situation in Turkey
and to press the Turkish authorities and government for information about the personal situation of Leyla
Zana, the Sakharov prize-winner;

Calls on its President to assure Leyla Zana once again that the entire European Parliament stands

5.
behind her;

6.
Calls on Turkey to implement all the recommendations made in the decision in the case concerning
Sadak and others, and notably to abrogate the ‘anti-terror legislation’ which is the basis for massive human
rights violations and to thoroughly reform the Turkish penal code by bringing it in line with the European
Convention on Human Rights which has been ratified by Turkey;

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7.
Calls on its President, the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the
Member States to intervene with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to ensure that Turkey
implements the letter and spirit of the decision in the case concerning Sadak, Zana and others, as some
personalities have already done;

Thursday 13 December 2001

III.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council, the parliament
and government of Turkey and the military junta of Burma.

*

*

*

25. Nepal

B5-0761, 0772, 0780, 0794, 0807 and 0810/2001

European Parliament resolution on Nepal

The European Parliament,

A. deeply concerned at the breaking of the four-month cease-fire by the Maoist rebels and the resulting

violence in Nepal, which has claimed well over 1 000 lives,

B.

recalling the optimism expressed by the European Union as recently as September 2001 that negoti-
ations between the Government and the CPN (Maoists) would result in a peaceful resolution of the
conflict between the Maoist opposition forces and the government of Nepal within the framework of
the rule of law, respect for human rights and multi-party democracy,

C. whereas it is the first time since 1990, when the constitutional monarchy was established, that a state
of emergency has been declared and that the army has been deployed to combat the Maoist insur-
gents,

D. whereas, also for the first time, the declaration of a state of emergency has had the effect of suspend-
ing freedom of speech, assembly and movement, restricting freedom of the press and suspending
Article 23 of the Constitution on judicial guarantees,

E.

F.

concerned that the army will be allowed to detain people for up to 48 hours, possibly at undisclosed
locations and without safeguards, and that the new Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Ordinance
could lead to people being detained without charge for up to 180 days simply for expressing their
peaceful political ideas,

alarmed at the planting of several bombs in various locations in Kathmandu, including industrial areas,
and at the finding of one of the bombs in Thamel, where the highest concentration of tourists is to be
found,

G. whereas the fight against ‘terrorism’ must not affect respect for human rights, which is the best means

of guaranteeing the rule of law,

H.

aware and concerned that since the start in 1995 of the conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives,
the domestic political situation in Nepal has become increasingly unstable and there is now the danger
of a civil war,

I.

concerned at the fact that children as young as 14, including girls, are being recruited by members of
the armed opposition group,

J. whereas the higher castes (12 % of the population) hold 70 % of administrative power and 95 % of the

kingdom’s wealth,

K. whereas the future of Nepal, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and has benefited
from EU support since 1977, and whose main source of foreign currency revenue is tourism, is being
seriously jeopardised by the escalation of violence,