The Nation-PD Burma urged junta to

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The Nation
Politics 

PD Burma urged junta to allow  UN observer's visit

A GROUP of leading international parliamentarians yesterday called on Burma
to accept the United Nation's consultative body as a contact group in
helping to seek an acceptable solution to the impasse in the country. 

Danish Helle Degn, chairperson of the International Network of Political
Leaders Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma) urged the Burmese junta to
allow a new visit by a United Nations observer, a request recently denied
by the junta. It also wants a UN consultative committee, already
established but currently inactive, to play a mediating role in fixing a
time-table for a transition to democratic rule. 

Earlier this month, the Burmese government refused to admit UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy, Ismail Razali, of Malaysia
for a fact-finding trip. 

Helle Degn, a Danish MP and current chairman of the UN Parliamentary Group,
said the body ''should be accepted and respected by all parties. It is
already there but should be used''. 

She said the junta should heed the UN's suggestion and continue serious
dialogue with all concerned groups. The Burmese junta leaders met two
central executive committee members of the National League for Democracy on
Monday. 

She urged the State Peace and Development Council to refrain from using
violence against the peaceful student protesters. 

South Korean Kim Sang-woo, who is secretary of the foreign affairs and
trade committee of the parliament, called on Asean members to exert
influence on Burma through their ''enhanced interaction'' agreed last month
in Manila. 

PD Burma was established in 1996 as a direct result of the refusal of the
Burmese junta to grant visas to a group of parliamentarians to enter the
country and seek first hand information about the political situation after
the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest on July 10, 1995. 

PD Burma said that Burma was in a different situation now after becoming an
Asean member last year, and as such if it wants to benefit from
international aid, the junta should begin by respecting human rights and
democracy. 



BY RITA PATIYASEVI 



The Nation