Abuja, 28/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - By adopting several resolution, the joint APC/EU Assembly has taken a stance on:
1) The conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia: The Assembly supports the OAU peace plan of a long lasting and global peaceful settlement of the conflict between these two countries. It also supports the mediation efforts presently carried out by the OAU President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika and by the EU Presidency's special envoy, Rino Serri.
2) Angola: The Assembly calls on the United Nations and the EU to continue exerting strong pressure on the Unita leaders, notable through the application and intensification of sanctions decreed by the UN against this organisation. It encourages all the political forces and parts of civil society to unit their efforts to eliminate violence and build a peaceful and democratic Angola. It once more calls for an improvement in the monitoring and implementation of sanctions against the smuggling of diamond controlled by Unita and through African and European negotiations. The EU and the international community are invited to urgently increase their humanitarian aid to Angola.
3) Somalia: The Assembly expresses its full support for the peace plan proposed by the President of Djibouti. It invites the head of all the Somalian factions to co-operate in the efforts aiming to promote the search for a long-lasting solution that would enable the restoration of peace and stability and the return of the central government. It called on the EU to begin the aid and reconstruction programmes. The APC-EU Council is invited to put forward a legal instrument enabling Somalia to benefit from the 7th and 8th EDF, despite the absence of national authorities able to ratify the 4th Lomé Convention.
4) Solomon islands: The Assembly expressed its fears over the continuing ethnic tensions in this country. It invites all the parties concerned to co-operate with the government and respect the peace agreements with Honiara and Panatina. It also decided to send a mission on the field.
5) Belize: The Joint Assembly condemns the intrusion of Guatemalan armed forces onto the territory of Belize. It calls on the two countries to find a rapid solution to their differences in the integral respect of sovereignty independence and the territorial integrity of Belize (Guatemala claims more than 12,000 km2, or more than half the territory of Belize.
6) Ivory Coast: The Assembly congratulated itself on the desire shown by Ivorian leaders to end the transition period and start the electoral process at the latest by the 31 October 2000. It called on the EU, APC countries and the international community to help, through all means, the Ivory Coast restore constitutional legality according to the timetable foreseen.
7) The situation in the Great lakes region: The Assembly deplores the delays in applying the Lusaka agreement and condemns the human rights violations, summary executions, acts of torture, rape, ethnic propaganda and the enlisting of children in the armed forces. It invites all the parties in the conflict the immediately proceed with the implementation of the Lusaka agreement and calls on the UN security Council to authorise, without delay, the initial deployment of 5,500 UN soldiers to monitor the implementation of the agreement. It called for the orderly withdrawal of all the foreign armed forces on the DRC territory and invited the Congolese signatories of the agreement to immediately start a national dialogue. The DRC authorities are invited to free all the political prisoners and authorise party activities. The Assembly also called for an international investigation on all the massacres and other violations of human rights.
8) The state of negotiations between the EU and South Africa: The Assembly invites the parties to reach an equitable agreement on the questions relating to wine and spirits, while respecting the new deadline (1st June 2000) for the ending of negotiations. It calls on the European Commission to ensure that the South African government is invited to continue is priority undertaking in the fight against criminality so as to favour an increase in tourism and investments.
9) Haiti: The Assembly regrets, for the third consecutive time, that the organisation of elections was postponed. It hopes that they will, as rapidly as possible, enable the entry into office of the new Parliament on the second Monday next June. The Assembly reminds the Haitian government that in the absence of a Parliament, the funds made available to the country, or more than EUR 500 million, will not be freed. The European Commission and the Member States of the EU are invited to grant a priority to legal aid, education in human rights and the training of the Haitian national police force as well as the improvement of detention conditions.
Presenting the report by the EP's development committee's delegation, which went to Haiti last October, the German Social Democrat Karin Junker criticised the role played behind the scenes by the aristocracy and deplored the lack of trustworthiness in the police and judicial services.
The Haitian Senator Samuel Madistin criticised the report that he considered "perfectible" and to which he insisted on correcting certain errors. He questioned if the aid granted by the provider of funds authorises them to dictate the choice of political leaders. After having underlined the problems for the executing of the contract obtained by a Spanish firm for the construction of National Road 3 (he said that only 20% of the work have been executed after 20 months). Mr. Madistin called for a revision of the procedures for the calls for tenders by the European Commission, who all to often privileges EU companies. The Swedish Green Inger Schörling also made criticisms with regard to a report that discussed the environmental problems in Haiti. The Dominican Republic MP Jose de Jésus Rijo Presbot judged as unacceptable the racist allegations found in the report by Mrs. Junker.
On behalf of the European Commissioner, Mr. Theodorakis recalled that a second slice of aid has been approved, on condition, and that all the projects have been launched. He recognised that problems have appeared in the progress of work in the building of the RN 3, but the Commission has taken necessary measures for a new call for tenders.
10) Guinea Bassau: By adopting a joint resolution to the APC and EU the joint Assembly welcomed the developments that have enabled the return of peace and democracy. It recognises that it is up to the people of Guinea Bassau to decide their destiny, without foreign interference (allusion to the role-played during the war by certain neighbouring countries: Ed.). The Assembly calls on the EU and its Member States to restart the development aid for Guinea Bassau and to launch an appeal for the cancelling of its foreign debt.
During the debate, the Guinea Bassau MP Nicolau Dos Santo recalled that following the elections the democratic institutions have started to function again and called for increased support of the consolidation of the Legal State. The Portuguese Communist Joaquim Miranda feels that Guinea Bassau deserves this support. The President of the Mali National Assembly Ali Nouhomoum Diallo brought his countries support to the developments in Guinea Bassau and called for more substantial aid. He also formulated the hope, that with the arrival to power of the new Senegalese unit, the co-operation in the sub-region would enable them the reach the objective of stability while answering the needs of the population.