Slorc: "EU should not block Burma i (r)

[nin@xxxxxx]

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

>From nin@xxxxxx Wed Feb 26 15:11:45 1997
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 17:48:48 +0100 ()
To: Slorc community
Subject: Eurodelegation PvdA, 1 March 1997 

For your info.
There will be a conference on 1 March 1997, coming Saturday, on
the issue of European Human Rights Policy (Place: West Indisch Huis, 
Herenmarkt 99 Amsterdam)

Points of discussion (in brief):
	* contribution EU on respecting Human Rights, as well as in as outside the 
  	  Union
	* Dutch Human Rights Policy
	* Does international compagnies have responsibility if Human Rights are at 
  	  stake?
	* What is the relation between trade and investments on one hand and 
  	  international labor (norms/rights) on the other hand
	* Do we think that Human Rights violations in China are different from those 
  	  in Burma; is a difference in reaction justified?
	* Do we need to have restrictions made conc. Development aid, to countries 
    	  where HR are largely violated?

Present: Foreign Minister Mr. Hans van Mierlo, Ed van Thijn, Eren Keskin
(Turkish Human Right activist, recently released!), staatssecretaris van 
Dok-van Weele, Ir. Slechte (president-director Shell), Hedy d'Ancona, 
Piet Dankert, Wiersma and many others.

Information/subscription at: PvdA Eurodelegatie, Plaats 27a, 2513 AD Den Haag. 
Tel: 070-3467000, Fax: 070-3637669


======================================================================
On 26 Feb 1997 bcn@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> From: bcn@xxxxxxxxx (Burma Centrum Nederland)
> 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.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> BCN is onafhankelijke stichting. Doel: Nederlandse samenleving informeren 
> over Burma. Het initieert en co-ordineert aktiviteiten die democratisering 
> en duurzame ontwikkeling bevorderen. Het geeft een positieve bijdrage aan 
> een constructieve dialoog tussen de diverse groeperingen.
> 
> BCN
> Paulus Potterstraat 20
> 1071 DA AMSTERDAM
> THE NETHERLANDS
> (31)20-6716952 (tel)
> (31)20-6713513 (fax)
> 
> LIST OF BURMA WEB RESOURCES
> 
> Just remember one website:
> 
> http://FreeBurma.org
> 
> This single page serves only as an easy to remember URL and departure
> point to resources promoting the establishment of democracy in Burma.