EU Human Rights Resolutions: Tibet, Bahrain, Syria

The European Parliament condemned the continued Chinese crackdown on Tibetan monasteries, demanding the release of Bahraini human rights activists, and called on Syria to release psychoanalyst Rafah Nashed, in urgent human rights resolutions passed on Thursday.

Tibet: Chinese authorities urged to respect religious rights

MEPs condemn the continued Chinese government crackdown on Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the Aba/Ngaba county prefecture in Sichuan province, and in other parts of the Tibetan plateau, including brutal security raids, arbitrary detention of monks, and a permanent police presence inside the monasteries. They call on the authorities to lift these restrictions and to restore the lines of communication to the monks of Kirti Monastery.

Parliament is deeply concerned by reports, since last April, of eight Tibetan Buddhist monks and one nun who set fire to themselves near the Ngaba Kirti Monastery in China’s Sichuan province.

MEPs call on the Chinese authorities to respect the rights of Tibetans in all Chinese provinces and to take proactive steps to resolve the underlying grievances of the Tibetan population. The authorities should cease promoting policies that threaten the Tibetan language, culture, religion, heritage and environment, in contravention of the Chinese constitution and the Chinese law granting autonomy to ethnic minorities, says the resolution.

Parliament calls on EU foreign policy High Representative Catherine Ashton to raise human rights issues at the next EU-China Summit, and urges the presidents of the European Commission and European Council to press China to protect Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity in their official speeches at the summit, should this issue not be on the agenda.

Bahrain: halt the violence and release the prisoners

Parliament condemns the repression of citizens in Bahrain, which has led to dozens of deaths and injuries, and urges the immediate and unconditional release of all peaceful demonstrators, political activists, human rights defenders, doctors and paramedics, bloggers and journalists. It also expresses its solidarity with the families of all the victims.

The Bahraini security forces and authorities should stop violence, repression and detention of peaceful demonstrators and show the utmost restraint when attempting to control protests, say MEPs, who urge the authorities to act in strict accordance with their legislation and international obligations.

MEPs also reiterate their view that demonstrators in Bahrain have expressed their legitimate democratic aspirations and call on the government there to engage in a genuine, meaningful and constructive dialogue with the opposition, without further delay or additional preconditions, in order to bring about the necessary reforms, encourage national reconciliation and restore social consensus in the country.

Syria: the case of Rafah Nashed

Rafah Nashed, Syria’s first practising psychoanalyst and the founder of the Damascus School of Psychoanalysis, was arbitrarily arrested and detained on 10 September 2011at Damascus airport, by officers of the General Intelligence Services. Ms Nashed is a 66-year old doctor is known for treating victims of psychological trauma as well as for her active engagement in favour of dialogue among all Syrians.

MEPs strongly condemn Ms Nashed’s arrest and detention and express the gravest concern about her, in view of her precarious state of health. They call on the Syrian authorities immediately and unconditionally to release Ms Nashed on medical and humanitarian grounds and to guarantee her physical safety and return her to her family without further delay.

Finally, Parliament also demands that the Syrian authorities allow humanitarian organisations and doctors to treat the victims of violence, give them access to all parts of the country and enable them to carry out their legitimate and peaceful work without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.