WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1549/99 by Graham WATSON Presidential elections in Togo
C 27 E/126 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 1. 2000 It was dismayed by the such cooperation has not been matched by improvements on the ground. December 1998 crackdown on dissidents and in August 1999 expressed its concern at the harsh sentences handed down to members of the China Democratic Party. The Council continues to see the EU-human rights dialogue, the next meeting of which should take place in the week beginning 18 October in Beijing, as well as the cooperation programme in the field of human rights, as important instruments for fostering respect for human rights in China. But, as the Council has stressed, the dialogue is not an end in itself. There must be concrete results on the ground. The Council is therefore seeking to make the dialogue more focused on issues of priority, more regular and more oriented towards securing concrete improvements. (2000/C 27 E/153) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1549/99 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council (1 September 1999) Subject: Presidential elections in Togo Is the Council aware that a number of members of Amnesty International have been detained by the Togolese authorities following the publication of a report by AI which reveals compelling evidence that intimidation, torture and extrajudicial executions were commonplace during and after the 1998 presiden- tial election campaign? What pressure will the Council bring to bear the Togolese authorities given the demands for upholding democratic rights and principles placed on signatory nationals of the Fourth LomØ Convention in Article 5? Reply (8 November 1999) 1. The Council has been apprised of the fact that Mr Pierre SanØ, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, recently received a summons to appear before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of LomØ on 15 November 1999 for a possible indictment for contempt, incitement to revolt, dissemination of false news and conspiracy against the external security of the State. The Union has reiterated on a number of occasions its commitment to the protection of human rights in Togo and will continue to insist that perpetrators of human rights abuses be brought to justice. In its response to the question the Honourable Member put to the Council last year regarding the 2. Presidential elections in Togo in June 1998, the Council referred to different reactions in which disappointment was expressed at the way these elections had been conducted, namely the declaration of 26 June 1998 and the consultations that were held with the Togolese Government on the basis of Article 366a of the revised LomØ IV Convention. Since then, an inter-Togolese dialogue between the government and the opposition political parties was prepared and was held between 19 and 29 July 1999 in LomØ. This dialogue was accompanied by facilitators of the international organisation for the French-speaking world and the European Union. At the end of that meeting a Framework Agreement of LomØí was signed by all participants. That Agreement provides, legislative election after dissolution of the National Assembly in March 2000 to be organised by an independent Commission, access of all political groups to the public media and the return and safety of refugees. for the following: inter alia, The Council is currently following closely this new situation and reiterates its willingness to assist in a process which encourages the development of democracy in Togo and secures the absence of human rights violations to which the Honourable Member refers in his question