AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY ISSUES DECLARATION

UNCLAS VIENNA 001482 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL SY AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY ISSUES DECLARATION REGARDING RECENT ARRESTS IN SYRIA REF: STATE 77093 This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Vienna delivered ref demarche to Austrian Foreign Ministry May 18. ¶2. (U) On May 19, the Austrian EU Presidency issued a declaration urging the Syrian authorities to reconsider all cases of political prisoners and immediately release all prisoners of conscience. The text of the declaration follows. BEGIN TEXT Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union regarding the recent arrests in Syria Recalling the Presidency's statement of 19th January, the European Union expresses regret that the positive steps taken in January 2006 regarding the human rights situation in Syria have not been continued. On the contrary, the situation has substantially deteriorated. The EU expresses its deep concern about the recent widespread harassment of human rights defenders, their families and peaceful political activists, in particular arbitrary arrests and repeated incommunicado detention. The European Union calls on the Syrian government to fully respect freedom of expression and assembly as laid down in the Syrian Constitution and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Syria in 1969, which should be fully in force in light of the recent limitation of the emergency law to matters strictly concerning state security. The European Union urges the Syrian authorities to reconsider all cases of political prisoners and immediately release all prisoners of conscience. Phillips