Situation in the Soviet zone of Germany
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 24th September I960 (14th Sitting) (see Doc. 1191, Report of the Committee on Non-represented Nations). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24th September 1960 (14th Sitting).
1. The Assembly,
2. Having debated the situation in the Soviet zone of Germany and, in particular, the problem of the political prisoners in that zone;
3. Considering that the SED Communist Party have imprisoned thousands of people for political motives;
4. Considering that the main charges brought against these German citizens by the Communist authorities are "defamation of the State", "incitement to boycott" and other phrases of this kind which hide the fact that these people have simply expressed their opinion, rejected the Communist regime and asked for a return to democratic freedoms;
5. Considering that the compulsory collectivisation measures have led to a new wave of arrests of peasants and manual workers who protested against the expropriation measures of which they were the victims;
6. Considering that the Communist regime is resorting to undermining the physical resistance of its political opponents,
7. Protests against this situation, which constitutes a violation of human rights; requests an enquiry by the International Red Cross into conditions prevailing in the detention centres of the Soviet zone of Germany; and demands an alleviation of the plight of the prisoners.
