RESOLUTION B3-0223, 0226, 0231, 0247, 0263 and 0267/93

Resolution on Togo

The European Parliament,

A.dismayed by the continuing acts of murderous violence perpetrated in Togo by the regime of President Eyadema, which have led to the murder of dozens of peaceful citizens including several children, and by the frequent use of torture,

B.having regard to the massacres and acts of violence organized during January 1993 by the presidential guard, the Togolese army and militias sympathetic to the regime, which resulted in dozens of deaths and numerous injuries and disappearances, causing a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Togolese into the interior of the country and into neighbouring Ghana and Benin,

C.noting with regret that the transitional government is manifestly unable to accomplish its task owing to the violence and threats to which it is subjected, and having regard to the political deadlock in Togo, characterized by absence of government since 9 November 1992, the indefinite general strike called on 16 November 1992 and the constitutional crisis provoked on 18 January 1993 by the decision of the Togolese Head of State to appoint a Prime Minister, thereby arrogating the prerogatives of the transitional parliament and the Supreme Council of the Republic, which was dissolved on the same occasion by the Togolese Presidential Party,

D.having regard to the failure of the Colmar meeting of 9 February 1993 and the new problems which followed owing to the refusal by General Eyadema's representatives to agree to the confinement of the armed troops to certain areas under the supervision of international observers,

E.whereas repression has in the past two years become an instrument of government and whereas there is a disturbing lack of democracy and fair elections,

F.regretting that most of the democratization processes in Africa are encountering frustration and difficulties owing to the arbitrary, violent resistance to all change shown by former heads of state and their military and bureaucratic machines, and that Togo is no exception,

G.disturbed at the growing tension between the government in Togo and its neighbour, Ghana,

1.Condemns vigorously the violence and the human rights violations committed in Togo and expresses its disgust at the shooting of peaceful demonstrators by Togolese security forces in January 1993;

2.Strongly condemns the actions of General Eyadema, who is using the army to retain his dictatorial power against the will of the people, as clearly expressed by the Togolese National Conference and the Supreme Council of the Republic;

3.Calls on the Council, the Member States and the Commission to isolate President Eyadema's regime politically, financially and diplomatically and on the international community to exert maximum pressure on President Eyadema to speed up the democratic process and to ensure that fair elections take place;

4.Calls on the Council and the Member States to examine, in conjunction with the United Nations Security Council and the OAU, the steps which need to be taken to reach a settlement of the crisis in Togo and to guard against any risk of the conflict spreading to other countries in the region;

5.Calls on the Commission to support Ghana and Benin in providing temporary reception facilities for Togolese refugees;

6.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly, the OAU, the United Nations Security Council and the Government of Togo.