B3-1433, 1449 and 1473/93

Resolution on South Africa

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to its earlier resolutions on South Africa,

B.having regard to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to Nelson Mandela, President of the ANC, and to Frederik De Klerk, South African State President,

C.whereas the prospect of the first democratic and non-racial elections in the country's history, in April 1994, and the establishment of the Transitional Executive Council constitute a decisive step towards the abolition of apartheid,

D.whereas, in spite of these most promising developments, there remains the major challenge of restraining violence, raising the standards of living of large sections of the black population and supporting the first democratic elections in South Africa,

1.Welcomes the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr De Klerk, and the President of the ANC, Mr Mandela;

2.Welcomes the historic agreement between the parties on the establishment of a Transitional Executive Council, an Independent Electoral Commission and Independent Media Commission and Independent Broadcasting Authority to promote democratic and fair elections and its subsequent adoption by the current Parliament;

3.Stresses, in view of the need for economic integration in South Africa, the importance of close economic and commercial relations between the EC and the members of the Southern African Development Council (SADC);

4.Calls, in view of the above, for a new framework for political and economic relations between the Community and South Africa, bearing in mind that the existing SADC countries are signatories to the Lomé Convention and the situation of South Africa;

5.Reaffirms its concern at the extremist movements, which refuse to participate in the negotiation process and which are inciting people to violence, and is particularly concerned at the possibility of attacks on ANC leaders and candidates, which would very probably jeopardize the process of democratization and thus destabilize the whole of South African society; in this context, recalls the difficult period which followed Chris Hani's assassination;

6.Calls, therefore, for proper protection for candidates in the elections and calls on the Community to respond positively to any requests for cooperation in the field of training for the police and security forces and, where appropriate, to put forward actual proposals for such cooperation;

7.Considers that the Special Programme should be extended to include measures relating to housing, education and employment, for which additional interlocutors should be found;

8.Calls for the forthcoming elections to be supported by cooperation between the Community and the planned Independent Electoral Commission, particularly as regards voters' education programmes and the monitoring of elections;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the South African Government, the ANC and the Transitional Executive Council.