The European Parliament,

A. having noted the seriousness of the incidents in Kinshasa and the violence with which the Zairean security forces quelled the peaceful, popular demonstrations protesting against the economic policy of the government and calling for democratic reforms to be speeded up,

B. having learnt that these incidents resulted in a number of deaths and in the arrest of numerous opponents of the regime,

C. whereas these tragic events are the culmination of a period of unrelenting repression of democratic forces in Zaire, and noting that the members of this regime, with President Mobutu at their head, systematically obstruct any moves towards democracy,

D. whereas the catastrophic economic and social situation and the widespread corruption of the authorities which have prompted the rebellion by the inhabitants of Kinshasa is being exacerbated by political uncertainty that is being deliberately prolonged by President Mobutu,

E. whereas respect for human rights and for democracy is laid down in Article 5 of the Lome IV Convention, to which Zaire is a signatory,

1. Roundly condemns all human rights violations in Zaire;

2. Fully supports the demands of the democratic forces in Zaire, in particular the convening of a national conference, guaranteeing the participation of all opposition forces, democratic procedure and a genuine right to take decisions;

3. Calls on the Government of Zaire to do its utmost to ensure that, in response to the wishes of the majority of the Zairean people, a national conference, representing all of the tendencies in Zairean society and having sovereign power over its decisions, is held as soon as possible;

4. Calls on the Member States and the Council to condemn unreservedly the regime's repression and calls on the Council and the Commission to do their utmost to give effective support to the democratic opposition forces in Zaire in their efforts to bring about change;

5. Urges the Commission and the Council, therefore, to focus the development aid to Zaire from the Community and the Member States on the Zairean population's basic requirements and on humanitarian measures, this to be channelled via the NGOs and decentralized cooperation arrangements, and to introduce an EPC ban on arms shipments to the Zairean regime;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and to the Government of the Republic of Zaire.