UN urges EU to prevent isolation of Myanmar

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 22/09/05

Paolo Sérgio Pinheiro, the UN's rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar (Burma) has urged the EU to engage with that country in order to prevent its total international isolation.

"I think that the international community and Europe must find intelligent and creative ways to deal with Myanmar," Pinheiro said during a visit to Brussels.

While praising the EU's travel ban on leaders of Myanmar's ruling military junta, Pinheiro criticised its economic sanctions against the regime and warned that the current leadership may be driving the country towards further international isolation.

"Myanmar is not South Africa," he said "for 15 years there have been sanctions and they are not working. If something is not working then we have to think about alternatives."

Mark Faminer, campaigns director at Burma Campaign UK, described Pinheiro's remarks as disappointing".

"We would argue that sanctions have not fully been tried," he said.

While the EU operates a visa ban on key members of the Myanmar regime, it has not followed the US in imposing a full investment ban and assets freeze.

Faminer said that the EU had only frozen around EUR 6,000 across the 25 member states and although a ban existed on investing in state-owned enterprises, the timber, gas, oil and gems industries remained untouched.

Pinheiro warned that Soe Win, who was appointed prime minister in late 2004, looks likely to isolate the country further, breaking any leverage that the international community has to restrain the regime.

Pinheiro added that there was a problem of access to Myanmar's leadership. "No country has access to the leadership, they have access to the minister of foreign affairs. It is not a great deal because he has no power at all," he said.

He welcomed the EU's efforts to bring humanitarian aid to Burma but called on the EU to do more to support opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is currently under house arrest.

"I think that Europe needs to make some effort, at least that the Red Cross could visit her. Europe likes to make ritual manifestations of sympathy for Aung San Suu Kyi. It is not sufficient."

There are currently estimated to be around 1,100 political prisoners inside Myanmar.

Article reports that Paolo Sérgio Pinheiro, the UN's rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar (Burma) urged the EU to engage with the country in order to prevent its total international isolation.

• Primary Source

EEAS: Myanmar http://www.eeas.europa.eu/myanmar/index_en.htm

---