The European Parliament,

-  . having regard to the situation of virtual bankruptcy, despite its rich natural resources, of the Central African Republic, which is unable to resume its repayments to the World Bank and where the military, with the exception of the presidential guard, are owed back pay for one year and teachers for more than two years,

A.  whereas this landlocked country has suffered the full force of the Congolese rivalries, which cut off its usual access routes,

B.  concerned at the breakdown of the State and the public service,

C.  whereas the Government has responded to the social crisis by limiting public freedoms,

D.  whereas the attempted coup of 28 May 2001 and the ten days of fighting and the repression that followed, particularly vis-à-vis the Yacomas, the tribe of ex-President Kolingba, who is suspected of initiating the coup and the serious acts of violence against the civilian population,

E.  whereas hundreds of people died as a result of the fighting,

F.  whereas the UN peace-keeping force, which was deployed in April 1998 after two years of mutiny and withdrawn in February 2000, had begun restructuring the armed forces to include representatives of all the tribes,

G.  whereas tens of thousands of civilians, most of them women, children and old people, fled from the fighting and are surviving in precarious conditions in the forests,

H.  recalling the food supply problems that exist,

I.  recalling the task assigned by the UN Secretary-General to the former President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré,

J.  whereas the forces loyal to President Patassé, with the support of Libyan troops and the Congolese movement MLC, seem to have regained control of the situation,

1.  Vigorously condemns the use of violence against a lawfully elected Head of State and reiterates that it is inadmissible to resort to force to achieve political and economic ends;

2.  Calls for a cessation of hostilities;

3.  Calls on all the parties involved to be scrupulously respectful of legality, human rights and democratic institutions under the Constitution;

4.  Profoundly regrets the loss of human life and other suffering and expresses its sympathy for the victims of the conflict;

5.  Calls for the perpetrators of summary executions of civilians, looting and any other human rights violations to be identified and brought to justice forthwith;

6.  Is concerned at the involvement of foreign military forces in the Central African Republic;

7.  Calls on all political groups to resume peaceful political dialogue;

8.  Calls on the Commission and Council to follow developments closely and to take all necessary measures to promote a return to civil peace and prevent a humanitarian crisis;

9.  Calls on the Commission to step up humanitarian aid to the population and hopes that the UN will grant substantial assistance to rebuild the basic socio-economic infrastructure in order to bring the country out of its current crisis;

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Government of the Central African Republic.