B3-1463, 1465, 1471 and 1500/93

Resolution on Burundi

The European Parliament,

A.saddened by the military coup in Burundi on 20-21 October 1993 that ousted the government democratically elected in June 1993 and halted the democratization process in the country,

B.appalled at the ferocity of the coup, which has already claimed many thousand lives, including, according to the latest rumours, those of President Melchior Ndadaye, the President of Parliament, and the Minister of the Interior,

C.indignant about the continuing slaughter of the civilian population,

D.concerned about the disastrous consequences of the coup, i.e. the increased ethnic tensions and the flow of refugees,

E.concerned about the fate of the hundreds of thousands of refugees leaving the country in fear of their lives,

F.declaring its solidarity with the people of Burundi who, through democratic elections, had opted for a new and peaceful model of society,

1.Condemns, in the strongest terms, the coup staged against President Ndadaye's elected government and the Bujumbura massacre, the most serious attack to have been perpetrated in many years on an emerging democracy in an ACP state;

2.Agrees with the decision of the European Community and its Member States immediately to suspend development cooperation with Burundi;

3.Calls upon the international community to isolate Burundi on the political as well as on the economic level as long as the present situation persists;

4.Requests the United Nations Security Council to discuss as a matter of urgency the situation in Burundi in order to avoid more tragic developments, to safeguard the constitutional state and to ensure that the democratic aspirations of the people of Burundi are respected;

5.Calls on the international community to take action to protect the people of Burundi, who have been subjected to oppression and massacres for many years, and in particular to put pressure upon the Burundese army to respect the people's democratic aspirations;

6.Requests immediate access to the country for international observers who would acquire an insight into the real situation and whose presence would serve to avert worse disasters;

7.Calls on the European Community and its Member States to take the necessary measures in the neighbouring state of Rwanda in order to provide for the refugees;

8.Calls on the Commission immediately to take the steps required to freeze Lomé Convention measures to assist Burundi, with the exception of non-governmental humanitarian aid, insofar as this can be done under controlled conditions;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly and the OAU.