RESOLUTION B3-1429, 1443, 1425 and 1476/92

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Western Sahara,

B. having regard to the events in Assa (Southern Morocco) and Smara and El Ayun (Western Sahara), where Saharan men and women held peaceful demonstrations between 27 September and 15 October 1992, asserting their right of self-determination and calling for an end to the state of emergency,

C. having regard to the brutal action by the Moroccan police in violently putting down the demonstrations and injuring, arresting and abducting large numbers of people,

D. concerned about the further fate of the detainees and of those taken away to unknown destinations, whose names are known from a long list, and worried that events may escalate further,

E. whereas the European Council meeting in Lisbon on 26 and 27 June 1992 adopted a formal declaration on relations between Europe and the Maghreb states, placing the emphasis on respect for international law, human rights and democratic principles,

1. Reaffirms the right of every individual to express his opinion freely and to demonstrate peacefully;

2. Condemns the violent action by the Moroccan police and army against the civilian population in Western Sahara;

3. Calls on the Moroccan Government to release immediately and without preconditions the people arrested and abducted, and in future to respect peaceful assemblies;

4. Calls on the Moroccan authorities to lift the state of emergency in the aforementioned areas and to afford access to them for independent observers (members of parliament, human rights organizations and journalists) so that they can assess the situation and monitor the release of the detainees;

5. Calls on the Foreign Ministers meeting in EPC to take action and urge the Moroccan Government to release immediately the people detained and abducted during the demonstrations;

6. Calls on the governments of the Member States and the Community authorities to do everything in their power to protect the population of the Sahara region;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, European Political Cooperation, the governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President-in-Office of the OAU, the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Liberation Front.