Slorc: "EU should not block Burma i

[bcn@xxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Slorc: "EU should not block Burma into Asean" (24/02/97 reuters)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Reuter) - The European Community (EU) should not try 
to block Burma's plans to  become a member of the Association of South East 
Asian Nations (ASEAN), a senior 
Burmese government official said on Monday.

Myanmar (Burma) is a friendly country," Burma's deputy prime minister Maung 
Maung Khin was quoted by Malaysia's national news agency Bernama as saying 
at an ASEAN investment
seminar here. "They (EU) have their own way of thinking and have been 
putting pressure on us over the years," he said. ASEAN has faced mounting 
international pressure not to admit Burma on grounds the country's ruling 
State Law and Order Restoration Council has suppressed democracy and 
violated human rights. Burma, Cambodia and Laos are expected to join ASEAN 
-- which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, 
Thailand and Vietnam -- possibly as early as this year. Burma's entry into 
ASEAN was the subject of discussions at an ASEAN-EU meeting in Singapore 
earlier this month. Europe has sought to isolate Burma's military rulers, 
refusing to give visas to its leaders and demanding ASEAN put pressure on 
the country to reform. "From one side, the opposition by EU is not 
justified. There are distorted views about Myanmar and people should come 
and see the country for themselves," said the deputy prime minister, who is 
also chairman of the Burmese investment commission. He said Burma was on a 
path towards democracy but said it was not something which could not happen 
overnight because the country wanted a stable government in the future. He 
said Burma was fully prepared to join ASEAN and would abide by its rules 
when it became a member. ASEAN accounts for 53 percent of foreign direct 
investment into Burma which currently stood at $6 billion, he added.
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