51995IP1502

B4-1502/95

Resolution on the situation in the Chechen Republic

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Helsinki Final Act and the concluding documents of Vienna and Madrid, the Paris Charter for a New Europe and the founding principles of the OSCE set out in the Budapest Declaration,

A. mindful of the fact that, on 11 December 1994, the Russian central government deployed its army against the people of the Chechen Republic with a view to restoring the constitutional status of the republic by military means, a move which, according to reliable reports, has already caused many thousands of civilian deaths as well as the devastation of the capital, Grozny,

B. noting that, whilst Chechnya is an integral part of the Russian Federation, a political, negotiated solution should be found for this conflict on the basis of both respect for the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and the Chechen people's wish for greater autonomy,

C. mindful of the fact that the scheduled presidential elections in Chechnya, planned by the central government without a prior political solution having been reached, have further accentuated the tension,

D. mindful of the fact that one of the principles of the European Union is the recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination, and that genocide is a crime against humanity,

1. Calls on the Russian central government to resume the peace negotiations immediately and, in this context, to negotiate the conditions for the election of the President;

2. Calls on the Russian central government to defuse the situation by withdrawing its troops, thereby restoring the people's confidence in a political solution to the conflict;

3. Calls on the Council of Europe to link the Russian Federation's admission as a member state to the restoration of human rights;

4. Calls on the Commission and the Council to continue and step up the programme of humanitarian aid to the refugees and the civilian population of Chechnya and to contribute actively to a programme of economic and civic reconstruction and development for Chechnya;

5. Calls on the Russian Central Government to initiate a reconstruction programme for Chechnya in cooperation with the people of the Republic with a view to permitting them to return to normal living conditions;

6. Calls on the Commission and the Council to make clear to the Russian Government that the continuation of its policy of repression can only damage relations between Russia and the European Union and its Member States, and may call into question the operation of the Partnership agreement;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Russian Government and the Council of the Russian Federation.