| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.10, No.29, 2.9.04 |
| Publication Date | 02/09/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 02/09/04 DUTCH Foreign Minister Bernard Bot is hoping he can secure a united position on Burma - the most sensitive topic in the Union's relations with Asia - when he hosts a meeting of his EU counterparts this weekend (3-4 September) in Maastricht. The question of whether to engage with the military junta ruling Burma is straining EU-Asia ties. The UK is leading calls for Burma to be excluded from the EU-Asia summit scheduled for 8-9 October in Hanoi, because of the brutal repression inflicted on Burmese democracy activists. However, Asian governments have insisted the summit cannot go ahead if Burma is not admitted; the meeting is supposed to group the Union together with the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, plus China, Japan and South Korea But France argues that because Burma is part of ASEAN, it is difficult to exclude it from the summit. One idea that has been mooted to break the impasse is that Burma could be represented in Hanoi by a minister, rather than a head of government. The Burmese-government-in-exile last night urged the Union not to soften its stance towards Rangoon. Its spokesman Thaung Htun said that Ireland's EU presidency had announced earlier this year that several conditions would have to be met before official EU dialogue with Burma could begin. These included the release of pro-democracy leader Aung Saan Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since 1989. "If the EU compromises with ASEAN, this would send the wrong signal to the Burmese military regime," Htun added. He also alleged that Paris is more interested in placating the French energy giant Total, the biggest foreign investor in Burma, than in the Burmese people. But a French diplomat denied this: "We have always been in favour of sanctions on Burma and we respect them. We just find it difficult to accept that the Union imposes obligations on its partners about their presence at summits." Bernard Bot, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, has called for a common EU position on Burma in the light of the October 2004 EU-Asia summit. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Asia, Europe, Southeastern Asia |
