Ramon Tremosa

Tibet: violations of the Tibetan people’s human rights and freedom of expression by the Chinese authorities

There is a deepening climate of fear in the Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province, as a result of the self-immolation monks and nouns since March 2011. In the last six months alone, no fewer than 15 Tibetan Buddhists, most of whom were monks, have set themselves on fire in public, suffering terrible injury or even dying in the process, to make world public opinion aware of China’s aggressive policy towards Tibet and the dramatic situation there.

In the most recent incident, a 40-year-old monk who ran an orphanage in Darlang set himself on fire after pouring kerosene over his body. However, faced with such acts of desperation, the Chinese authorities have responded by imposing police restrictions and tightening controls, while suicide and attempted suicide have been defined by the Chinese authorities as acts of terrorism instigated by the Dalai Lama. In addition to a police crack-down, the Chinese authorities have stepped up mandatory ‘patriotic re-education’ programmes for monks, i.e. coercive indoctrination of Chinese history in order to eradicate Tibetan cultural and religious identity.

Because of this inacceptable situation, I asked the High representative for EU foreign policy Baroness Catherine Asthon if she was aware of this situation? And if the EU has taken a clear position or a reaction been given by the Commission and the European External Action Service to these facts?

I asked if it was the Vice-President/High Representative’s intention to release a public statement of concern over the lack of respect for human rights in Tibet, which is leading to these extreme acts and desperate forms of protest?

Moreover I asked if the EU will raise this issue with China during the next EU-China summit and EU-China human rights dialogue?

China: Fears of imminent extradition of Uyghur refugee Ershidin Israel from Kazakhstan to China and need for the EU to act according to its values and objectives

Like many other Uyghurs who have been extradited to China in the recent past, where they were detained, imprisoned, sentenced, tortured, executed or disappeared upon their return, Ershidin Israel, 38, a Uyghur refugee currently in detention in a unknown location in Kazakhstan, is in imminent danger of being extradited to China after the Kazakh authorities rejected his asylum application

Vietnam: Continuous violations of the human rights of the Degar (Montagnard) people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam by the Vietnamese communist regime

The Vietnamese Government has launched and is continuing to launch reprisals against the Degar people in the Central Highlands, violating fundamental human rights. The EU cannot accept this situation any longer and cannot simply stick to ‘business as usual’ in its relations with the Vietnamese Government. Accordingly, what concrete steps has the Commission taken, and what steps will it take in the future, to stop these human rights violations? Will the Commission take any strong measures against the Vietnamese Government in the context of the Association Agreement? Which action has the EU Delegation in Vietnam taken so far?

Cambodia: Derailing of the democratic process in Cambodia: the EU has to intervene to guarantee Sam Rainsy participation in communal elections in 2012 and in legislative elections in July 2013

The European Union has to intervene to avoid a catastrophic derailing of the democratic process as the country approaches communal elections in June 2012 and the legislative elections in July 2013. Contrary to Myanmar Regime, where opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is now authorized to take part in the country’s forthcoming elections; Cambodia has in recent years followed an opposite path of political retrenchment.

Sam Rainsy, the leader of the second largest Party in Cambodia (SRP), who represents the Cambodian opposition and democratically elected representatives of the country’s people (SRP has 37 national assembly and senate representatives), has been forced into exile to avoid prison sentence. All major human rights organization recognises the political motivation of this sentence. Sam Rainsy has been removed from the list of parliamentary representatives; he is not authorized to participate in his Country forthcoming elections. Sam Rainsy’s party has improved its performance at each election and is the only one capable of challenging authoritarian prime minister Hun Sen, who has been in power since 1979. Sam Rainsy is a perennial target for the governing party, the regime tried twice to assassinate him by grenade attack in 1997 and in 1998. Hun Sen is now seeking to eliminate him politically by thwarting the democratic process.

For the second time since 2005, he finds himself unconstitutionally expelled from the national assembly and unjustly hounded out of the country. His absence hasn’t weakened his Party, as some had hoped, but rather strengthened it. This is confirmed by the SRP results at the latest’s senatorial elections in Jan 2012.

Forthcoming elections in June 2012 and July 2013will be contested by the same political parties, with higher stakes. Elections conducted by universal suffrage presuppose that the leaders of the two main parties are able to confront each other on equal terms.

Article 1 of the ongoing cooperation/aid agreement between the EU and Cambodia signed in 1997 states that Cambodia has an obligation to respect human rights and Democratic principles. Article 19 allows o suspend agreement if one party violates Article 1. This is an obligation and the EU seems to forget it.

– Therefore, could the EU intervene to guarantee the respect of this basic democratic rule?

On the 21/02/2012, Cambodia Daily article titled “EU Gives $4.8 M to Fund Human Rights Projects”. Donor countries and European Institutions should remember that democratic principles with the underlying system of checks and balances, help fight corruption and promote good governance. Moreover, Article 1 of the ongoing cooperation/aid agreement between the EU and Cambodia states that Cambodia has an obligation to respect human rights and Democratic principles. This is an obligation and the EU seems to forget it.

Egypt: Activist Maikel Nabil Sanad sentenced to three years in prison and also Incidents in Cairo and the fire at the Institute of Egypt

On 10 April 2011, the 25-year old activist Maikel Nabil Sanad, accused of ‘insulting the leaders of the armed forces’ and ‘spreading false information’, was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court. Various international media publications, including the Guardian(1) and the Huffington Post, reported on his conviction, as did the organisation Human Rights Watch. They drew attention to the activist’s pro-Israeli and pacifist stance against the army’s involvement in the running of Egypt, which has effectively placed the country under military rule.

Nabil Sanad’s imprisonment is politically-motivated given his blog’s(2) overt opposition to the actions of the army. An article dated 8 March 2011, in which he criticised the torture and killing of Egyptian activists after Mubarak had stepped down, appears to be the main reason for Nabil’s arrest and imprisonment. Maikel Nabil Sanad has now embarked on a hunger strike in protest at the situation and hopes that this will draw the attention of the international community to what is happening.

Tunisia: EU support to refugees and to the democratic transition process

The EU announced its commitment to supporting the democratic process in Tunisia as from 14 January 2011. It has delivered humanitarian aid for the reception of hundreds of thousands of refugees who have arrived in Tunisia since the uprising and the fighting in Libya, and has helped to set up refugee camps and repatriate third-country nationals to their countries of origin.

On 15 June 2011, at a meeting of Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, the European External Action Service (EEAS) representative reported that 6 000 persons remained in the camps and that pledges to resettle 780 refugees had been made.

Can the Commission indicate which Member States have pledged to take in refugees? Can the Commission inform Parliament about the state of play on the discussions with the Council and the Member States on the reception of refugees whose cases have been accepted?

Western Sahara: Sahrawi human rights defenders and political prisoners on hunger strike — need for urgent EU intervention given the relations between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco

According to numerous reports, the situation in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara has significantly deteriorated in recent weeks. Over 12 000 Sahrawi men, women and children have left their cities and set up tents in the outskirts of the cities El Aaiun, Smara and Boujdour in protest at the ongoing exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources and their dire socioeconomic situation, as well as the persistent refusal of Morocco to allow a free and fair referendum to be organised by the UN on the fate of the Western Sahara.

Will the Commission consider calling upon the Moroccan Government to:

– ensure that humanitarian assistance and other supplies reach the civilian population in the camps unhindered?

– put an end to its policy of discrimination and abuses of human rights against the Sahrawi people, as well as the plundering of their natural resources?

– respect its international commitments and allow the people of Western Sahara to freely decide on their future in a free and fair referendum, as recommended by UN Security Council resolutions?

Russia: Urgent case regarding violation of human rights – Situation of freedom of expression and the rule of law in Russia, court case banning Falun Gong materials

On 22 December 2011, the regional court in Krasnodar, Russia, upheld the decision by the district court that Falun Gong materials, including its main book ‘Zhuan Falun’, translated into over 39 languages and distributed freely in more than 100 countries,

This court decision may result in restrictive measures against Russian Falun Gong practitioners: criminal prosecution; administrative arrests and fines; searches and confiscation of Falun Gong-related materials; prohibition of group practice sites and public activities, and the arrest of participants.

The Falun Gong association has been legally registered in several cities in Russia and Falun Gong practitioners in Russia are law-abiding residents, who follow the peaceful meditation practice of Falun Gong. This court case is an obvious violation of the fundamental human rights of Falun Gong practitioners — freedom of expression and freedom of belief, which are guaranteed by the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, which Russia has signed.

Following the speech by the High Representative, Lady Ashton, on the Annual Human Rights Report in Parliament in Strasbourg on 13 December 2011, the EU cannot continue with its ‘business as usual’ approach to its relations with the Russian Government. Is the Vice-President/High Representative aware of these human rights violations? If so, what action has the EU Delegation in Russia taken so far to protect the fundamental rights of Russian Falun Gong practitioners?

Mauritania: Human rights activists beaten and arrested in Mauritania, including Biram Dah Abeid, President of the IRA (Initiative de Résurgence Abolitionniste)

At around 11 a.m. on 13 December 2010, Mr Biram Dah Abeid, president of the IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) – and, from this year, member of the transnational, cross-party Nonviolent Radical Party, was attacked, beaten and arrested by police in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, along with some thirty human rights activists.

The activists were demonstrating to demand the release of two girls who were being kept in slavery by a high representative of the local authorities.

For days, the atmosphere surrounding the movement for the liberation of modern slaves in Mauritania had been particularly tense, in the aftermath of public action and events that had been highly successful in Nouakchott.

Mr Biram Dah Abeid had received threats, but apart from that no further details are known about the incident.