European Parliament OKs resolutions

BRUSSELS, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The European Parliament approved three human rights resolutions concerning media in Venezuela, the political crisis in Madagascar and a prisoner in Myanmar.

The members expressed concern about the movement toward authoritarianism by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government, the European Union said Thursday in a release. In January 2010, six cable and satellite television channels were ordered off the air after they were criticized for failing to broadcast Chavez's speech on the 52nd anniversary of the overthrow of Perez Jimenez.

Members of the European Parliament, sitting in Brussels, called on Venezuelan authorities to review the decision and the obligation to broadcast all presidential speeches.

In a second resolution, members of European Parliament condemned Andry Rajoelina's seizure of power in Madagascar "in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Madagascan Constitution," calling his actions "an outright coup d'etat."

The members called for implementation of accords signed in Maputo, Mozambique, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that provide for power-sharing among the primary political movements in the country.

The EP also condemned Rajoelina's decisions to cancel the appointment of Eugene Mangalaza as prime minister and to walk away from power-sharing talks in December.

The European Union recently decided to suspend funding from various development programs for Madagascar except for humanitarian aid.

In the third resolution, the European Parliament called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, criticizing the order barring her from participating in the next Myanmar election, scheduled for some time in 2010.

Members urged Myanmar authorities to ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent and inclusive, consistent with international standards. This year's elections would be the first since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won. She has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

The resolution also urged the military junta of the country formerly known as Burma to stop recruiting child soldiers and condemned ethnic cleansing campaigns against minorities, the EU said.