Tyranny In Romania

EDM number 1292 in 1989-90, proposed by John Gorst on 17/07/1990.

That this House notes that Mr Leon Nica, President of the Romanian Free Democratic Party, and a critic of the present regime, was assaulted and then arrested a month ago during the disturbances in Bucharest organised by rampaging miners; notes that reports allege he was so badly beaten about the face that he is now virtually unrecognisable; notes that despite widespread representations by international organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Romanian authorities have not yet allowed representatives of his party, his family, the ICRC or any other independent source to see him; urges the Romanian government to provide evidence that Mr Nica is not being and has not been maltreated; calls on them to allow immediate access to him; demands that, if Romania seeks acceptance by the democratic communities of both Eastern and Western Europe, it operates a system of law and order in which both miners and dissident politicians are treated fairly and equally under the law; urges all governments having dealings with Romania to withold economic assistance until there is proof that respect for human rights and the rule of law are observed in practice, and not merely given lip-service; and reminds the Iliescu government that tolerance of dissent, as well as freedom to express it, are both the hallmark of, and a prerequisite, for any truly democratic system of government.

This motion has been signed by a total of 15 MPs.