MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

19.6.2007

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Frithjof Schmidt, Raül Romeva i Rueda
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on Burma (Myanmar)

B6‑0262/2007

European Parliament resolution on Burma (Myanmar)

The European Parliament,

• -having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma of 16 September 2004, 12 May 2005, 17 November 2005 and 14 December 2006;

-  Having regard to the statement on 25 April 2007 of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani over on-going campaign against human rights defenders in Myanmar

• -having regard to the objectives of Council Common position 2007/248/CSFP of 23 April 2007 on renewing restrictive measures against Burma/Myanmar, calling for an early release of all political prisoners and for an end to the military campaign against civilians in conflict areas;
• -having regard to the EU Council declaration of 28 May calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi
• -having regard to the conclusions of the 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting hold in Hamburg on May 28-29, 2007 calling for the "early lifting of restrictions placed on political parties" and "deploring the lack of tangible progress in the declared transition towards a civilian and democratic government";
• -having regard to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the Nobel Peace Prize and Sakharov Prize Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has now been held in house arrest under conditions of solitary confinement without charge for four consecutive years since the attack on her convoy on 30 May 2003, and has spend more than eleven of the last 17 years in detention;

B.  whereas on 26 May Aung San Suu Kyi's term of detention came to an end and the Secretary General of the National League for Democracy (NLD) should have been released, yet instead her confinement was extended for another year

C.  whereas the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) continues to subject the people of Burma to appalling human rights abuses, such as forced labour, persecution of dissidents, conscription of child soldiers and forced relocation,

D.  whereas the National Convention, which first convened in 1993 to draft a constitution and which has been suspended many times since then, resumed on 10 October 2006 but still lacks any credibility due to the absence of many representative groups, most notably the NLD

E.  whereas Burma (Myanmar) may have the largest natural gas reserves in Southeast Asia and natural gas exports have become Burma's primary source of foreign exchange

F.  Whereas according to reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma the military continues - particularly in the context of pipeline constructions - to unlawfully confiscate land, to displace villagers, demand forced labour and use force against those who protest against such practices

1.  Condemns the extension of the solitary confinement of Aung San Suu Kyi;

2.  expresses its concern about repeated confrontations between pro-democracy activists and government organised thugs and paramilitary groups, as in the recent events at Shwedagon pagoda

3.  Reiterates its condemnation of the SPDC for its failure to make any significant move towards democracy, despite having ruled for over forty years and calls for an end to repression of the political opposition, the release of the hundreds of political prisoners and to terminate the repression of ethnic minorities;

4. 

   Concludes that the current national convention fails to oblige the recommendations made by the UN Secretary-general to transform it into an inclusive and democratic constitution making process and thus, is not leading to national reconciliation and restoration of democracy in Burma;

5.  Strongly urges the military regime to invite all parties concerned for a substantive political dialogue and find a common framework for a constitution, based on which all parties concerned can jointly participate in a democratic transition and nation building process;

5.  Supports the Council decision to renew the restrictive measures against Burma and to expand the list of those targeted, so that it includes all SPDC ministers, deputies, members, supporters and workers, in addition to their family members, and businessmen and other prominent individuals associated with the regime;

6.  calls on the Commission to put the human rights situation in Burma prominently on the agenda of the new dialogue mechanism established in the context of the 2007-2013 support programs for regional cooperation in Asia;

7.  suggests in this context to make all efforts in order to enhance contacts and to design programs focusing on Burmese civil society, notably women's groups and ethnic minorities, as well an possibly on local authorities;

8.  expresses its disappointment that US sanctions and EU restrictions have not had the desired results and that particularly Asian countries are increasing their investments recently

9.  criticizes the recent decision of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) to help design and build a nuclear research centre, including a 10 -megawatt light-water reactor in Burma

10.  calls on all companies investing in Burma's extractive industries to suspend their activities until they can credibly demonstrate that their projects can be carried out without abusing human rights through thorough and independent human rights impact assessments and to make the results of such assessments public

11.  recalls in this context the law suits of Burmese villagers against UNOCAL and TOTAL for complicity in gross human rights abuses committed by the Burmese military which brought the companies to agree to substantial compensation payments

12.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the governments of the ASEAN nations, the National League for Democracy, the State Peace and Development Council, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD, , the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.