Nat'l Coalition Govt. of the Union of Burma       Government and Politics of Burma        BurmaFund WebIndex

For immediate release: Feb. 16, 1999.

PM calls regime’s bid to attend EU-Asean meeting cynical

Says junta should be shunned until rights record improves

NCGUB Prime Minister Dr. Sein Win today called Burma’s ruling military regime’s current willingness to ‘talk’ about human rights if it is allowed to attend the E.U.-A.S.E.A.N. ministerial meeting in Berlin on March 30 "a cynical attempt to gain legitimacy without addressing its abhorrent human rights record." For years the regime has denied that it systematically abuses human rights and refuses entry to investigators from the United Nations, the European Union and international organizations. "The European Union" Dr. Sein Win said, "should insist that the regime curtail its abuses before it is allowed to attend the EU-ASEAN meeting. Specifically, the regime should stop suppressing Burma’s legitimate democratic parties and instead, begin a serious political dialogue with them."

In its bid to be admitted to the EU-ASEAN meeting, the regime last week released two political prisoners. U Bo Hla Tint, the NCGUB’s Minister for North and South American Affairs welcomed the release but noted that "it comes two weeks after the regime sentenced some 270 more political prisoners to prison terms totalling 3,440 years. Releasing two and imprisoning more than 200 is not the kind of progress on human rights the regime needs to make."

Dr. Sein Win praised the stand taken by Denmark, the United Kingdom and other members of the European Union to uphold its Common Position which was strengthened in Oct. 1998 to deny visas to the high ranking regime officials who are preventing the restoration of democracy. Dr. Sein Win urged that "until such time as the regime stops suppressing legitimate political dissent and engages in a real dialogue with the winners of the 1990 general elections and its ethnic peoples, the generals should not be allowed to participate in the EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting or any international conferences."

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