RESOLUTION B3-0198, 0205, 0206, 0212, 0258 and 0260/93

Resolution on the continued oppression of the Burmese people and the expulsion of refugees from Bangladesh

The European Parliament,

A.concerned at the fate of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the European Parliament Sakharov Prize in 1991, who announced her refusal to accept any material aid from her jailors and began a hunger strike in November 1992,

B.seriously concerned at the situation of the 'Rohinyas' who have fled from Burma to Bangladesh and who have been stripped of their Burmese nationality,

C.noting that a national convention has been called by the Burmese constitution and that some of the ten political parties represented, including the National League for Democracy, have opposed provisions for a special constitutional role for the armed forces,

D.welcoming the visit of several Nobel Prize Winners to Bangkok and subsequently (during the UNHCR session) to Geneva to demonstrate their concern for Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma,

E.recalling that Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, which won the Burmese elections of 1990, have still not been permitted to take office and many members continue to be held as political prisoners,

F.gravely concerned by the reports that the Bangladeshi Government has begun the expulsion of refugees from its Eastern border regions to Burma,

G.aware that the continuing human rights abuses and the military dictatorship in Burma put the lives and the well-being of returning refugees at great risk,

H.stressing the enormous efforts made by the Government of Bangladesh and humanitarian organizations to provide for these persecuted people,

I.recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in Burma,

1.Condemns any proposal for constitutional reform aimed at confirming the military leadership whose policy of 'opening up' over the last year has still not led to the release of the leader of the opposition, and condemns in advance any proposal designed to cancel out the victory of the National League at the elections in May 1990, and places on record its opposition to the recognition of any constitution aiming to legitimize military rule or set aside the results of democratic elections;

2.Again demands the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners;

3.Calls on the EC and its Member States to continue providing the necessary support to Bangladesh, if necessary by using funds intended for Burma itself, to enable the country to give asylum to refugees and in particular to ease the environmentally adverse effects of the camps, and in this respect, calls on the Government of Bangladesh to stop all involuntary repatriation of the Rohinyas and to allow humanitarian NGOs to re-enter the Eastern frontier regions;

4.Condemns the SLORC for its repressive policy towards the Rohinya minority and urges the SLORC to permit the UNHCR to fulfil its duty to oversee the situation of the 17,000 repatriated Rohinyas;

5.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the EPC, the Government of Bangladesh, the UNHCR and the SLORC.