WRITTEN QUESTION No. 909/99 by Bernard LEHIDEUX Action taken by the Syrian Government in response to the resolution of March 1998 on Lebanese prisoners in Syria
C 370/138 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 12. 1999 (1999/C 370/193) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0909/99 by Bernard Lehideux (PPE) to the Commission (8 April 1999) Subject: Action taken by the Syrian Government in response to the resolution of March 1998 on Lebanese prisoners in Syria In March 1998, when human rights organizations were regularly condemning the arbitrary imprisonment of numerous Lebanese citizens in Syria, without charges being brought against them and without their families being informed of their fate, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Lebanese prisoners in Syria (B4-0324/98) (1), calling on the Syrian Government to publish a full list of Lebanese prisoners in Syria, to release those prisoners against whom no charges had been brought and to transfer the others to Lebanon. A year on from this resolution, does the Commission know whether this list has been published and 1. whether the Syrian Government has complied with the other recommendations? If no satisfactory response is received from Syria, what will the Commission do to ensure that these 2. human rights violations are taken into account in the European Union’s relations with Syria? (1) OJ C 104, 6. 4. 1998, p. 238. (1999/C 370/194) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0979/99 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission (15 April 1999) Subject: Lebanese, Palestinian and Jordanian political prisoners in Syria According to the latest report from Amnesty International more than 250 political prisoners are currently being held in Syria, mainly Lebanese, Jordanians and Palestinians, and their fate appears to be unknown. Many of them have suffered arbitrary arrest and torture, while others have received long prison sentences after a secret summary trial before a military court. It might be pointed out that hundreds of Lebanese, Palestinians and Jordanians have ‘disappeared’ in Syria since the end of the 1970s. Given that the Syrian authorities have undertaken, through the Barcelona process, to guarantee peace and stability in the region, in what way will the Commission intervene with a view to ensuring effective protection for human rights in Syria in the context of negotiations on the EU-Syria association agreement? Joint answer to Written Questions E-0909/99 and E-0979/99 given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (6 May 1999) According to a report of the Syrian human rights organisation Committee for the defence of democratic freedom and human rights in Syria (CDF), some 250 Lebanese citizens are still detained in Syria after the release of 121 Lebanese detainees from Syrian prisons in March 1999. To the Commission’s knowledge, the Syrian government has not produced a public list with the names of the remaining Lebanese detainees held in Syrian prisons. According to recent information from Amnesty International (AI), as of December 1998 no substantive response has been forthcoming from the Syrian authorities to queries from AI submitted in March 1997 and October 1998 regarding the Lebanese detainees (1). Since 1991 the Syrian government has released thousands of long-term political prisoners, including Lebanese citizens, most recently in March, May and June 1998. The Commission welcomes these releases but remains concerned over the remaining prisoners of conscience in Syria, including the Lebanese detainees. The Syrian authorities are well aware of the importance that the Union attaches to the strict respect of international human rights law. The Union uses every opportunity, afforded by its regular contacts with