B3-0406, 0424 and 0482/94

Resolution on the threat to the life of Taslima Nasrin and the human rights violations against women in Bangladesh

The European Parliament,

A.shocked by the incitement to the murder of the Bangladeshi writer, Ms Taslima Nasrin, by an organization calling itself the Council of Soldiers of Islam on the grounds that her writings are considered blasphemous,

B.recognising that, following representations by International Pen and Amnesty International, the Bangladeshi Government has provided her with police protection, but equally aware that action remains to be taken to bring to justice those who issued the death threat against her,

C.deploring the seizure of her passport by the Bangladeshi authorities and the ban imposed on her novel 'Lajja',

D.welcoming the protests made on her behalf and in favour of the publication of her writings by leading Bangladeshi intellectuals and writers,

E.disturbed by the increasing number of 'fatwas' pronounced by local religious leaders against village women, in contradiction with the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Bangladesh, which have already led to the tragic deaths of several innocent women,

F.seriously worried by the recent attacks by Muslim Fundamentalist organizations on education programmes for village women and the poor, and other social programmes carried out by non-governmental organizations in the rural areas of Bangladesh,

G.alarmed by the increasing number of cases of harassment and murder of brides and married women for non-fulfilment of dowry demands,

1.Vigorously condemns the 'fatwa' against Taslima Nasrin as well as against all other persons;

2.Condemns the measures of censorship against Taslima Nasrin's writings as well as the misuse of such writings by fundamentalist Hindu forces;

3.Supports freedom of expression as a representative democratic institution;

4.Condemns all those who, by stirring up hatred or by bribes, incite the murder of those with whom they disagree;

5.Calls on the Commission and the Council to obtain from the Bangladeshi authorities an assurance that appropriate measures have been taken to safeguard Ms Nasrin's life, her freedom of movement, including movement outside her own country, and her freedom of expression;

6.Calls on the Government of Bangladesh to prosecute and punish severely all attempts to threaten women's lives and well-being in the name of religious convictions and cultural identity;

7.Appeals to the Government of Bangladesh to take the necessary measures to prevent members of NGOs who are attempting to improve the social situation of the rural poor, especially of women, from being persecuted and their work from being destroyed by Islamic attacks;

8.Calls on the Government of Bangladesh to refrain from taking repressive measures against representatives of the Nirmul Committee, headed by the writer Jahanara Imam, and other organizations which, through democratic means of protest, oppose the killing of students and other civilians by members of Islamic organizations;

9.Supports the demand put forward by the Nirmul Committee and other democratic organizations to put Golam Azam and other representatives of Islamic organizations on trial for the war crimes they committed during the period of genocide, which lasted from March until December 1971;

10.Supports the views expressed and actions taken by the World Council of Writers, including its initiatives on 'urban citizenship' for writers in danger, and calls upon the Commission to consider ways of supporting the WCW's next meeting in Lisbon from 28 September to 2 October 1994;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and applicant states, and the Government and Parliament of Bangladesh.