EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Session document

{15/05/2002}15 May 2002 B5-0288/2002 B5-0296/2002  B5-0297/2002  B5-0306/2002

B5-0307/2002RC1     

JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

pursuant to Rule 50(5) of the Rules of Procedure by

–        Hanja Maij-Weggen, John Bowis, Bernd Posselt, Lennart Sacrédeus, Hartmut Nassauer and Carlos Coelho on behalf of the PPE-DE Group

–        Emilio Menéndez del Valle and Margrietus J. van den Berg  PSEon behalf of the PSE Group– Bob van den Bos ELDR}on behalf of the ELDR Group

–        Matti Wuori and Patricia McKenna  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

–        Marianne Eriksson  on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

–         Cristiana Muscardini  {UEN}on behalf of the UEN Group

–  Bastiaan Belder  {EDD}on behalf of the EDD Group

replacing the motions by the following groups:

– PE-DE (B5-0288/2002),

– UE/NGL (B5-0296/2002),

–ELDR (B5-0297/2002),

–PSE (B5-0306/2002),

–Verts/ALE (B5-0307/2002),

on Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aceh and Papua)</Titre>

European Parliament resolution on Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aceh and Papua)

The European Parliament,

– recalling its earlier resolutions on the situation in the Moluccas, Aceh and Papua province in Indonesia,

In general

A. aware of, and supporting, the importance which the Indonesian authorities attach to national territorial integrity, while underlining that the only viable way to guarantee the territorial integrity of Indonesia is for the government to engage in a genuine dialogue with the provinces in order to tackle the root causes of separatism and emphasising the importance of the interethnic, interreligious and interregional dialogue and successful decentralisation,

B. whereas the state must be responsible for ensuring the safety of its citizens irrespective of their ethnic origins or religious beliefs,

On the Moluccas

C. whereas on 12 February the Malino II peace declaration was signed by seventy Muslim and Christian representatives from the Moluccas, committing themselves to abandoning violence,

D. whereas the EU Presidency welcomed this agreement, including the mediation efforts by the Indonesian government leading to this peace declaration, and called upon the Indonesian government to take all necessary measures against any efforts from the outside to derail the peace process,

E. whereas in the weeks following the signing of the peace declaration, and notably on 3 and 28 April, further massacres of Christians took place,

F. whereas the promised Independent National Investigation Team has not yet been established, although Vice-President Hamrah Haz has promised to work for its early establishment,

G. whereas the leader of Laskar Jihad in the Moluccas, Ja'far Umar Thalib, on Friday 26 April, was reported to have called for the ignoring of the peace declaration and the beginning of civil war in the islands, making a strong statement saying that Muslims will destroy all Christians in Ambon, at a mass meeting with about 20 000 Muslims present,

H. whereas several church leaders, including the Catholic Bishop of Amboina, Monsignor Mandagi, and the Moderator of the Synod of the Moluccan Protestant Church, Rev. Dr Hendriks, sent a letter dated 29 April to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, asking for UN assistance to the Indonesian government to stop any further massacres,

I. whereas since 1999, when sectarian violence began in the Moluccas, fighting has claimed over 5000 lives in that province, and Laskar Jihad's infiltration into the neighbouring provinces of Papua and Sulawesi would widen the conflict to other provinces with large non-Muslim populations,

J. whereas on 4 May, at Surabaya airport, Laskar Jihad's leader Ja'far Umar Thalib was arrested by the police,

On Aceh and Papua

K. whereas the violence in Aceh province has continued after the Indonesian government and the separatists held, in March, fresh but fruitless talks in an effort to find a peaceful solution to the conflict,

L. whereas the fighting in Aceh has intensified since the beginning of this year, with at least 300 people killed,

M. whereas on 10 May the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement agreed to negotiate an end to hostilities and a process for electing democratic leaders for Aceh,

N. whereas the National Inquiry Commission has claimed that some six members of the army's special forces have been involved in the assassination of the Papuan leader, Theys Hiyo Eluay, without disclosing the motive for the killing or the names of those who gave the order to assassinate him,

In general

1. Is deeply concerned at the appalling violence in the Moluccas and the persisting conflicts in Aceh and Papua province, and expresses its sympathy with all the victims of these violent conflicts;

2. Regrets that the UN Commission on Human Rights has failed to take account of the worrying situation;

On the Moluccas

3. Calls upon all concerned to work for the implementation of the 12 February peace declaration;

4. Welcomes the arrest of Laskar Jihad's leader, Ja'far Umar Thalib, as a sign of the Indonesian authorities' commitment to standing behind the peace process in the area and to confronting terrorist groups, and asks for him to be brought to trial;

5. Regrets that in the past the Indonesian authorities have taken insufficient action once international pressure has died down, and therefore encourages the current Indonesian government to ensure that its military, security and police forces protect the civilian population from attacks by terrorist groups such as Laskar Jihad and refrain from violence against the civilian population;

6. Welcomes, furthermore, the action by the Indonesian government to force the members of Laskar Jihad to leave the Moluccas immediately, and asks it to ensure that Laskar Jihad also leaves other areas such as Papua province;

7. Welcomes recent diplomatic steps by the international community, including the Spanish EU Presidency, and asks for a new mission by the EU Ambassadors in Jakarta to the areas to take place as soon as possible;

8. Asks the Commission and the Council to envisage, with the UN and the Indonesian government, a programme aimed at rebuilding a civil society respecting the ethnic and religious balance of Indonesia's Molucca islands;

On Aceh and Papua

9. Urges the Indonesian government to find a peaceful solution to the situation in Aceh and Papua province, to protect any populations at risk, and to invite the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and summary executions to visit Aceh and Papua province;

10. Calls on the Indonesian government to establish a credible, legal and independent inquiry team of international human rights experts to investigate the involvement of state institutions in the assassination of the Papuan leader and tribal chief Theys Eluay and to bring the perpetrators to justice;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and Parliament of Indonesia, and the UN Secretary-General.