Text adopted on 9.4.92

The European Parliament,

A. appalled by the reports of the persecution of minorities in Burma (Myanmar), which has driven tens of thousands of Rohingyas (Burmese Moslems from Arakan) to seek refuge in Bangladesh and several hundreds of Nagas to flee to India, and by the massive military attack on the Karen minority near the Thai border,

B. drawing attention to the warning by the UN Secretary-General that the repressive policies of the SLORC threaten to destabilize the whole region, and noting that the first visit of the newly appointed UN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator is to Rangoon and then to Dacca,

C. shocked by the evidence that the Burmese Army seems to have been given licence to kill, torture and rape,

D. recalling that the SLORC still continues to ignore the results of the election of 1990, to detain the winner of that election, the Nobel and Sakharov Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and to persecute and imprison her supporters such as Tin U, co-founder with her of the National League for Democracy,

E. disturbed by the reports that 800 students are still being detained for celebrating the award of the Nobel Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi in December 1991,

F. profoundly concerned that the Burmese military dictatorship may continue to benefit from UN agencies such as the UNDP, which has plans to provide Burma with a total of $180 million in 1992-1997,

G. having regard to the resolution of the UN Commission of Human Rights deploring the failure of the SLORC to respect human rights and the results of the election,

H. recalling its previous resolutions about Burma,

1. Considers the present Burmese authorities' policies a threat to regional stability and welcomes the 6 March 1992 declaration made by the UN Secretary-General;

2. Believes that the time has come when the gross abuse of human rights in Burma and the defiance of international opinion by the SLORC requires the EC and its Member States to take the lead in imposing sanctions;

3. Calls on the Member States which are members of the UN Security Council to propose a mandatory embargo on the supply of arms to Burma;

4. Calls on EPC to consider with the Bangladeshi Government whether it is desirable to establish 'safe havens' for the Rohingyas in Bangladesh;

5. Stresses the importance of the EC and its Member States providing the maximum possible assistance to the democratically elected Bangladeshi Government in its efforts to help these refugees, bearing in mind the extreme poverty of Bangladesh and the terrible natural disasters to which it has recently been subjected;

6. Calls upon the Council and EPC to consider taking steps to put further pressure on the Burmese authorities, including trade sanctions in a multilateral context;

7. Calls for the Twelve to seek to postpone the putting into effect of aid programmes of UN agencies, with the exception of UNICEF, which is still present in Burma operating with some independence from the SLORC;

8. Calls on EPC to seek the cooperation of ASEAN and its Member States and Japan in ending the import of Burmese tropical woods which, by adding to the destruction of the rain forests, has potentially devastating effects on the global environment and which provides the SLORC with the means of purchasing weapons;

9. Calls on the UN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator to visit Bangkok and the Burmese-Thai border to ascertain the situation there at first hand; calls on Thailand to refrain from repatriating Burmese who have fled across their country and calls on the international Community to help the Thai authorities in the reception of refugees;

10. Calls for the immediate release of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, EPC, the Governments of Bangladesh, India, Japan and Thailand, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the UN Secretary-General and the SLORC.