Resolution on East Timor

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the recent imprisonment in Dili of Xanana Gusm o, the leader of the Timorese resistance movement, who has been held incommunicado for many days and deprived of legal, medical and humanitarian aid,

B. condemning the forced appearance on television of Xanana Gusm o in which, with the aim of destroying him psychologically and politically, he was shown in a submissive attitude, with obvious signs of torture and physical exhaustion, with a total disregard for human dignity,

C. whereas Amnesty International and other recognized organizations have condemned the physical and psychological torture of close relatives and supporters of the Timorese leader who were captured at the same time as him, some of whom have died as a result of this ill-treatment,

D. having regard to the recent statements by the Bishop of Dili condemning the systematic torture and other forms of terror by the Indonesian military authorities practiced against the civilian population of East Timor,

E. whereas the imprisonment of Xanana Gusm o and the way in which the Indonesian Government is seeking to exploit it are characteristic of this territorial occupation in defiance of international law, in which a people is being violently prevented from exercising its inalienable right to self-determination,

F. having regard to the recent position adopted by the European Community before the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly,

G. whereas the territory of East Timor is closed to international observers, including parliamentary delegations from countries which have friendly relations with Indonesia, and human rights organizations,

H. whereas Indonesia has not responded positively to the request made by the European Parliament a year ago to be allowed to send a fact-finding mission to monitor the situation in East Timor,

I. whereas the report by the UN Secretary-General's special envoy on the massacre of 12 November 1991 in Dili has, inexplicably, not yet been published and, one year later, the international community still has no objective information on this matter,

J. having regard to the conclusions of the public hearing on the human rights situation in East Timor organized by its Subcommittee on Human Rights,

1. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Timorese political prisoners;

2. Calls on the International Red Cross to draw up a report as a matter of urgency on the state of physical and mental health of all Timorese political prisoners in East Timor and Indonesia;

3. Calls for immediate access to East Timor and to Indonesian prisons by representatives of the UN Committee on Human Rights and Amnesty International;

4. Recalls the decision of its Enlarged Bureau to send a European Parliament delegation on a fact-finding mission to East Timor;

5. Warns Indonesia of the consequences that repeated violations of human rights and international law may have for relations with the European Community;

6. Urges Indonesia forthwith to adopt an unambiguous position in line with the UN Secretary-General's initiative to achieve a political solution to the problem of East Timor in accordance with the UN Charter and relevant resolutions adopted by this body;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the International Red Cross Committee, the Holy See and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.