WRITTEN QUESTION P-1796/99 by Marco Pannella (TDI) to the Commission. Abduction of Mr Vu Duc Binh and arrest of 24 members of the PAP.
20. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 170 E/103 (2000/C 170 E/119) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1796/99 by Marco Pannella (TDI) to the Commission (1 October 1999) Subject: Abduction of Mr Vu Duc Binh and arrest of 24 members of the PAP According to statements made by Mr Thomas Hammarberg, the UN Secretary-Generalís special represen- tative for human rights in Cambodia, Mr Vu Duc Binh, a member of the Popular Action Party and opponent of the Vietnamese Communist regime, was abducted and arrested by the Cambodian police in August 1999 and is now in Vietnam. The official Vietnamese press has also reported that a court in Hanoi sentenced 24 members of the same opposition party to 224 yearsí imprisonment for illegally returning to Vietnam with the intention of overthrowing the Communist government. What information does the Commission have on the abduction of Mr Vu Duc Binh, the arrest of 24 members of the Popular Action Party and their conditions of detention? What steps has the Commission taken, or does it intend to take, to seek the earliest possible release of these people? More generally, will the Commission state what measures it has taken or intends to take to promote democracy and the development of the market economy in Vietnam? Finally, has the Commission expressed to the Cambodian authorities its disapproval of Cambodiaís involvement in the abduction of Mr Vu Duc Binh? If not, does it intend to do so? Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (21 October 1999) The Commission has so far had no information about the abduction of Vu Duc Binh in August or the arrest of 24 members of Vietnamís Popular Action Party other than the bare reports in the press and statements by the UN Human Rights Centre in Phnomh Penh, which are somewhat inconsistent. It has asked its delegations in Hanoi and Bangkok (for Phnomh Penh) to look out for any further details. In the course of its relations with Cambodia and Vietnam the Commission consistently stresses the importance the EU attaches to observance of democratic principles and fundamental human rights, the principles of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, as set out in the cooperation agreements with the two countries. (2000/C 170 E/120) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1800/99 by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Council (13 October 1999) Subject: Proposals for directives awaiting a Council decision At the 23 September 1999 meeting of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, the President-in-Office of the Transport Ministersí Council confirmed that the Council holds a large number of proposals for directives on which it has yet to take a decision, despite the fact that some of those proposals have been awaiting such action for a number of years. Could the Council say which proposals are affected by this state of affairs? Reply (17 December 1999) The proposals for directives to which the Honourable Member is referring concern, inter alia, those covered by the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament at its sitting on 16 September 1999