Press release of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Geneva, 15 July 1996
N° 54

Five parliamentarians representing all world regions are meeting at the headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) from 15 to 18 July 1996 to examine cases of current and former MPs whose basic rights to freedom of speech and action have been under threat because of arbitrary measures taken against them.

The five MPs are the members of the IPU's Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which will be holding its 74th session since it was created exactly 20 years ago. Since that time the Committee, which meets four times a year, has looked into 807 cases, in 80 countries, of MPs affected by arbitrary measures of one kind or another - unlawful expulsion from parliament, arbitrary imprisonment and detention, unfair trial, etc. Cases also concern MPs who are threatened with death or even assassinated. Through its work, the Committee has contributed to the satisfactory settlement of a large proportion of these cases.

The five members of the Committee are Mr Nicos Anastasiades (Cyprus), Chairman of the Committee (lawyer, parliamentary leader of his party, Chairman of the Educational Committee and Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee); Mr Hugo Batalla (Uruguay), Vice-Chairman of the Committee (Vice-President of Uruguay and President of the Senate); Mr François Autain (France, former Minister and currently Questor of the Senate); Mr Hilarion Etong (Cameroon, lawyer; member of the National Assembly's Committee for Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Freedoms); and Mr Clyde Holding (Australia, former minister, lawyer appearing in civil liberty cases).

During its four-day session, the Committee will have before it the cases of 130 MPs in 25 countries. It is expected to close three of these cases during this session, because the MPs in question have either been released from prison or the case resolved in another satisfactory manner. However, the Committee will also have before it several new cases which have been brought to its attention since it last met three months ago: the cases of six MPs in three countries who have either been assassinated, imprisoned without charge, or had their parliamentary immunity lifted to enable their prosecution because of statements they have made in parliament.

According to the IPU Secretary General, Pierre Cornillon, "it is unfortunate that at this time when multi-party parliaments are on the rise, there still remain many cases of MPs who come under attack for merely having exercised their right to freedom of speech. It shows that in still too many countries the role of the legal opposition is misunderstood, and that the party in power has difficulty accepting strong and embarrassing opposing views."

The Committee will initially look into these cases behind closed doors, according to its confidential procedures in order to give the parliaments and governments in question a chance to resolve them quickly and satisfactorily. However, if confidential communication between the IPU and the authorities in the countries concerned does not produce sufficient progress, the cases are made public - the Committee submits public reports and recommendations for specific measures.

At present, over one half of the cases on the Committee's agenda are public ones - the cases of 73 MPs in the following 12 countries: Albania, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Gambia, Honduras, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria, Togo, and Turkey.

The IPU is the world organization of parliaments with a current membership of 133 national parliaments.

Following is a summary of the public cases before the Committee:

Albania (1 MP): This is the case of Mr Fatos Nano, former-Prime Minister of Albania and President of the Socialist Party, who was arrested in 1993 following the lifting of his parliamentary immunity and tried and found guilty of embezzling State funds in favour of a third party in connection with emergency aid delivered by Italy to Albania in 1991. In the meantime, the third party was found innocent by an Italian court. Mr Nano's efforts to have his trial reviewed and his sentence re-evaluated have been frustrated so far. Moreover, Mr Nano's lawyers have not been able to see him since October 1995. The Committee has said that it fears Mr Nano's prosecution was based solely on political considerations, and his continued detention was linked to the perspective of general elections in the country (which took place in May 1996).

Burundi (5 MPs): This case concerns five MPs, two of whom, Mr Mfayokurera and Mr Ndikumana were assassinated in August 1994 and December 1995 respectively. Three others, Messrs Ntibayazi, Banvuginyunvira, and Ndihokubwayo, were seriously injured in assassination attempts against them. No serious investigations have been carried out to determine the culprits, guaranteeing the attackers total impunity. The Committee has expressed its outrage at the violence which has claimed MPs' lives, and called on the competent authorities to fulfil their duties under national and international law to ensure that the fullest light is shed on the murders. It believes that impunity constitutes a serious threat to democracy and human rights and encourages violence to continue.

Cambodia (6 MPs): The first case concerns Mr Sam Rainsy, former Finance Minister and founding member of the ruling FUNCINPEC party. Following critical statements on his part concerning government corruption, he was dismissed as Finance Minister in 1994, expelled from his party in May 1995 and then from the National Assembly in June 1995 following the government's request that he be removed from his parliamentary seat. The Committee considers that, in the last analysis, Mr Rainsy was expelled from parliament for having exercised his right to freedom of expression. Moreover, the Committee has said it was alarmed at death threats against Mr Sam Rainsy, and strongly urged the government to protect Mr Sam Rainsy's life.

The other Cambodian case concerns five MPs of the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party including its founder, Mr Son Sann. Following a split in the party in May 1995, the Government recognized the opposing faction to that led by Son Sann whose attempts to hold a party congress to clear up the situation were stopped by the government, and two grenade attacks on participants on the eve of the congress injured 30 people. The government said it would conduct thorough investigations, but it appears that this has not been the case. The Committee has urged the authorities to see to it that investigations are conducted with all due diligence.

Colombia (6 MPs): All the parliamentarians in this case were assassinated between 1986 and 1994 and it is alleged that the MPs were victims of extra-judicial executions perpetrated by groups which might have acted on the authority of the Colombian armed forces. For some time, the Committee has been voicing its concern over the lack of diligence by the Colombian authorities in protecting members of parliament. Last year, special bodies were set up to investigate the assassinations, in particular a search group was sent to capture two paramilitary leaders sought for the murder of two of the senators. The Committee was therefore puzzled to learn that the government was actually negotiating with them with the aim of reintegrating them into civil life - which may result in their enjoying total impunity.

Gambia (1 MP): This case concerns Mr Lamin Wa Juwara, a member of the House of Representatives that was dissolved in the July 1994 military coup, and who was arrested in October 1995 and has since disappeared. The Committee said it was extremely concerned at the arrest and disappearance of Mr Wa Juwara, and wishes to ascertain urgently his whereabouts and reasons for his arrest.

Honduras (1 MP): The case concerns a member of the Honduran Congress, Mr Miguel Angel Pavon Salazar, who was murdered in 1988 shortly after testifying before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concerning disappeared people. Although the investigations into this case, which had been at a standstill for several years, were reactivated in 1994, to date they have produced no tangible results. The Committee has called for more detailed information on the investigations under way.

Indonesia (2 MPs): The first case concerns a member of the Indonesian Congress Party, Mr Sukatno, who has spent 28 years in prison, most of them under sentence of death, for having played an active part in the attempted communist coup d'état in 1965. Mr Sukatno has not been granted clemency despite repeated appeals by the IPU. Mr Sukatno is reportedly seriously ill, both physically and mentally.

The second case concerns Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives who is an outspoken critic of the government. He has been sentenced to two years and ten months imprisonment for allegedly calling the President of the Republic of Indonesia a dictator in a speech made in Germany in April 1995. Mr Pamungkas was deprived of his parliamentary seat in May 1995 following an official dismissal decree signed by the President. The Committee has noted with regret that Indonesian law empowers political parties to have representatives of the people expelled from parliament, although they hold their mandate by popular will. The Committee also considers that Mr Pamungkas was merely exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Maldives (2 MPs): The first case concerns Mr Ilyas lbrahim, a former member of the Citizens' Majlis of the Maldives, who was prosecuted for having sought election in the 1993 presidential elections. He fled abroad, and was tried in absentia and sentenced to over 15 years' banishment - a trial which failed to meet internationally recognized standards. He has since returned to the Maldives in the hope of obtaining justice, and has reportedly been placed under house arrest. The second case concerns Mr Mohammed Saleem, another member of the assembly who in April 1995 was sentenced to five-and-a-half-years' banishment on charges of corruption. His conviction is reportedly linked to his support for Mr Ibrahim and similar political opinions.

Myanmar (23 MPs): This case relates to the failure of the military authorities in the country to convene the parliament elected in 1990, and concerns MPs-elect who all were arrested and sentenced to heavy prison terms after summary trials - including one MP who died in detention. Although most MPs have been released on condition they cannot engage in political activity and have been stripped of their right to vote and be elected, some were later re-arrested and remain in detention, and reportedly receive inhuman and degrading treatment. Two MPs have been murdered.

Nigeria (7 MPs): This case concerns members of the former Nigerian Parliament, elected in July 1992 and dissolved in the wake of the November 1993 coup d'état. Members of the Senate were arrested on 2 June 1994 and charged with treasonable felony and conspiring with others to overthrow the government. Although the judge recently ordered the closure of the cases, they reportedly are under a constant threat of re-arrest. One Senator, Mr Tinubu, went into exile for fear of his life. A member of the House of Representatives was arrested in May 1995 and detained without charge until December.

Togo (3 MPs): This case concerns the killing of three parliamentarians in 1992 and 1994, reportedly at the hands of security forces. The authorities consistently affirm that investigations into these crimes are under way, but no progress has been made, although at least in one of the cases the killer's identity is well known. At its last session, the Committee said it may be "led to conclude that the competent authorities are reluctant to shed light on these odious crimes and that the Togolese State may thus be considered to share responsibility by omission in the murders of these MPs".

Turkey (16 MPs): These cases concern persons, all of Kurdish origin, who were elected members of the Turkish parliament in 1991, representing the south-eastern region of Turkey. They all lost their mandate following the dissolution of their party, the Democracy Party (DEP), by the Turkish Constitutional Court in June 1994. Some of them went into exile, and all the others were charged for separatism - a crime carrying the death penalty. Four of them were found guilty of membership in an armed organization and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. They have all appealed to the European Commission of Human Rights. Four others were found guilty under the anti-terrorism act for making separatist propaganda. They were sentenced to prison terms and heavy fines and are moreover deprived of their political rights for the rest of their lives. One MP was assassinated in 1993.

For further information: IPU Information Officer, Robin Newmann, tel: 919.41.50/25