European Parliament resolution on Togo
Date: 2005-05-12
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Togo, objections to an election result, political crisis, political opposition, presidential election, repression

20.4.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Thursday 12 May 2005

44.

Stresses the importance of also involving national parliaments in these initiatives, whenever possible;

Recalls the major role of regional and local authorities and their partners in the process of ratifying

45.
the Constitution, in making the information disseminated more personalised and thus more effective;

46.
Recalls the important role of civil society organisations within the ratification debates and the need
to make available sufficient support to enable such organisations to engage their constituencies in these
debates across the EU in order to promote the active involvement of citizens in the discussions on ratifi-
cation.

The European Parliament's information policy

47.
Proposes to conduct an objective study on the efficiency of its information policy; in this context,
welcomes the Bureau request, dated 10 January 2005, for a review of the role of the information offices in
the Member States;

Takes note of the discussions currently being held within Parliament's Bureau concerning the possi-
48.
bility of creating a publicly owned parliamentary channel; welcomes the decision of the Parliament's Bureau
to commission a feasibility study on the possible establishment of a parliamentary information channel or
genuine European Parliament television channel; recognises that there are a range of different options for
such a project and believes that any such channel should be independent; believes that such a channel could
make a significant contribution to the development of a European public space; notes that, on earlier
occasions, it has requested the Commission to launch an in-house impact study on such a European chan-
nel; stresses the need for there to be greater synergy between the activities of Parliament's information
offices and those of the Commission's representations;

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49.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice,
the Court of Auditors, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the
governments of the Member States and the International Federation of Journalists.

P6_TA(2005)0184

Togo

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Togo

— having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Togo,

— having regard to the statements made by the Commission and the Council Presidency,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas it is gravely concerned by the outbreak of violence which followed the disputed presidential
elections held in Togo on 24 April 2005 and which claimed the lives of 100 people and resulted in the
flight of more than 18 500 refugees into the neighbouring countries of Benin and Ghana,

B. whereas the violence erupted on 26 April 2005 when Faure Gnassingbe, son of Eyadema Gnassingbe,
was declared the winner of the elections on the basis of provisional results which gave him 60 % of the
vote as against 38 % for Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, the leader of a six-party opposition coalition,

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Thursday 12 May 2005

C. whereas the presidential elections of 24 April 2005 were marred by serious irregularities which began
with the drawing up of the electoral rolls and the distribution of voting cards and were followed by the
brutal repression of members of the Opposition,

D. whereas the Togo Constitutional Court confirmed Faure Gnassingbe as the winner of the presidential

elections and dismissed Opposition claims that the elections had been rigged,

E. whereas the coalition of opposition parties disputes the result of the elections and is calling for the vote
to be declared invalid, denouncing the serious irregularities which marred the voting procedures,

F. whereas, in several polling stations, the ballot boxes were removed by armed troops as soon as the

polling stations closed,

G. whereas, contrary to the agreement signed under the aegis of Ecowas, opposition representatives were

not authorised to take part in the work of the Independent Electoral Commission,

H. whereas it is reported that the violence which followed the elections resulted in several dozen deaths,

with more than 300 people seriously injured,

I. whereas international reaction to the elections has, to date, been varied, with France and Ecowas deem-
ing them satisfactory, despite some irregularities, and with the United States questioning the legitimacy
of the results,

J. whereas the Ecowas Chairman, President Mamadou Tandja of Niger, sent a delegation to Lomé on
1 May 2005 with a view to continuing the ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis in the country and
prevent a further destabilisation of a region already seriously affected by the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire;

Firmly condemns both the brutal repression perpetrated by the police against people disputing the

1.
regularity of the elections and the abusive treatment of foreigners;

Condemns the arson attack which completely destroyed the Goethe Institute in Lomé and calls on the

2.
Togolese authorities to ensure that all foreign citizens and institutions are properly protected;

3.
Calls on the security forces to stop all abusive and intimidatory acts against the civilian population, to
put an end to the activities of armed gangs and to carry out their duty to maintain order while strictly
respecting human rights;

4.
Calls for the establishment of an independent fact-finding commission to be responsible for clarifying
the abusive acts carried out and to assign responsibility therefor so that the guilty parties may be prosecuted
and made to answer for their actions, while respecting their right to a fair trial;

5.
Takes the view that the circumstances in which the elections were held on 24 April 2005 did not
comply with the principles of transparency, pluralism and the freedom of the people to determine their own
future, principles which were guaranteed by the relevant regional and international instruments, and that the
legitimacy of the authorities established on the basis of such elections cannot be acknowledged;

Emphasises that these elections do not comply with the conditions laid down as a precondition for the

6.
resumption of cooperation between Togo and the European Union;

7.
Calls on the Togolese authorities to convene a national conference, to be attended by the opposition
parties and representatives of civil society, with a view to finding a solution to the crisis and to envisage new
presidential and legislative elections worthy of the name: i.e. democratic, free, fair and transparent, under
international supervision and after a consensual review of the electoral code and the electoral rolls;

8.
Calls on the Commission, the Council and all regional and international institutions to work for a
return to security and dialogue so that the leaders of all political movements and civilian and military
institutions may set out along the road towards national reconciliation and a genuine transitional process,
in compliance with the democratic decision of all Togolese;

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Thursday 12 May 2005

Calls on the Member States to abstain from making unilateral declarations on the regularity of the

9.
elections and, instead, to seek a common position within the EU;

10.
Urges the Togolese authorities to comply with the 22 undertakings given in connection with the
consultations under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement as regards the restoration of democracy and
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

11.
Takes the view that the Togolese authorities must assume total responsibility for all acts of violence
perpetrated against the physical integrity of civilians and, in particular, against representatives of the Opposi-
tion political parties, human rights activists and journalists;

12.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretaries-
General of the United Nations, the African Union and Ecowas, to the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint
Parliamentary Assembly and to the President, the Government and the National Assembly of Togo.

P6_TA(2005)0185

Violations of human rights and democracy in the Republic of Mari El in the Rus-
sian Federation

European Parliament resolution on Mari El

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia, particularly that of 15 December 2004 (1), and to its

recommendation to the Council on EU-Russia relations of 26 February 2004 (2),

— having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EC and Russia, which

entered into force on 1 December 1997,

— having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Free-

doms, particularly Article 10 thereof,

— having regard to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages signed by the Russian

Federation on 10 May 2001,

— having regard to the Constitution of the Mari Republic (Mari El), which recognises Mari as one of the
State languages, and to the 1995 Act on Linguistic Matters that declares Mari El a multi-ethnic republic
and provides for the right of all citizens regardless of their ethnicity to maintain and develop their
native language and culture,

— having regard to the credible reports by Russian and international NGOs on the continuing violations
of human rights and irregularities before and during the presidential elections of 19 December 2004 in
the Mari Republic (Mari El) of the Russian Federation,

— having regard to the first EU-Russia Consultations on Human Rights, Minorities and Fundamental Free-

doms of 1 March 2005 in Luxembourg,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas journalists and correspondents of non-state mass media have been continuously and frequently
assaulted, harassed and intimidated in Mari El, such incidents including the killing of three journalists in
2001 and the beating of Mr Vladimir Kozlov on 4 February 2005,

B. whereas the local and federal governments have failed to take adequate steps to bring the perpetrators

to justice and ensure the safety of journalists and the independence of the media,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2004)0099.
(2) OJ C 98 E, 23.4.2004, p. 182.