Continued detention of political prisoners in Burma

Tabled by Frithjof Schmidt

on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma, in particular those of 24April 2008 and 27September 2007,

– having regard to Council Conclusions on Burma/Myanmar of 29 April 2008 and Council Common Position renewing restrictive measures against Burma,

- having regard to the report about the human rights situation in Burma by Tomás Ojea Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on Burma, of 3 June 2008,

– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 27May 2008 the Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) extended for another year the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, who has been under house arrest without charge for five years and has spent more than twelve of the last 18 years in detention,

B. whereas by extending Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest the junta violates its own law (State Protection Law of 1975) that stipulates that no one may be detained without charge or trial for more than five years,

C. whereas around 1900 people are reported to be detained for protesting over the constitutional referendum while it is still unclear what happened to dozens of participants to the monk-led protests in September 2007 that have been missing ever since,

D. whereas fifteen members of the National League for Democracy were arrested at a demonstration in support of the detained party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and spent two weeks in custody,

E. whereas the Burmese government refused to accept many offers of urgently needed international assistance after cyclone Nargis thus putting its citizens' lives at risk and is now reported to be forcing the cyclone victims to leave temporary camps and return to their devastated homes,

1. Strongly condemns the decision of the authorities of Burma to extend the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi;

2. Also deplores the detention of the group of political activists demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and urges the authorities of Burma to liberate all political prisoners without further delay;

3. Deeply regrets that the Burmese junta conducted the referendum on the constitution days after a devastating cyclone hit the country and dismisses its results as lacking credibility;

4. Calls on the Burmese authorities to lift all restrictions on the peaceful political activities in the country and move towards an inclusive process of national reconciliation, restoration of democracy, the rule of law and full respect for human rights;

5. Further calls on the regime to provide explanations concerning the persons that remain missing since last September's crackdown on protests by Buddhist monks and democracy activists;

6. Requests the Government of Burma to uphold the agreement made with the UN Secretary General to allow international humanitarian workers and supplies unhindered access to the areas affected by the cyclone and fully cooperate with the international community in assessing the assistance needs;

7. Is of the opinion that the EU's targeted sanctions against the Burmese junta, although broadened after the September 2007 events by introducing an embargo on further sectors of economy, still have limited effects on the regime thus falling short of the objectives sought; therefore reiterates its call on the Council to take further steps and effectively hamper access of the junta to the EU's financial system;

8. 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 and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.