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NEWS - UK Politics Burma bans UK m (r)



Subject: NEWS - UK Politics Burma bans UK  ministers 

UK Politics Burma bans UK  ministers 

BBC Dec.1, 1998


                     Burma has banned UK ministers
                     and government officials from
                     visiting the country. 

                     Diplomatic relations between the
                     two countries worsened on
                     Tuesday when the Burmese
                     regime told the Foreign Office no
                     minister or officials will receive a
           visa to enter the country, with immediate effect. 

           The move is seen as a response to the UK stepping
           up pressure on the Burmese military authorities to
           hold talks with ousted democratic leader Aung San
           Suu Kyi. 


                          Last month, Foreign Office
                          Minister Derek Fatchett
                          called for a European
                          Union mission to visit
                          Burma in an attempt to
                          improve human rights in
                          the country. 

                          Commenting on the ban
                          on entry to Burma, Mr
                          Fatchett said: "I regret this
                          move by the Burmese
                          regime. 

                          "It will in no way dissuade
                          us from continuing to work
                          for an improvement in the
           human rights and the political situation in Burma
           and bringing pressure on the regime to enter into
           dialogue with democratic leaders, including Aung
           San Suu Kyi." 

           The EU has already placed a series of sanctions on
           the Burmese regime including an arms embargo,
           putting restrictions on visas and suspending
           non-humanitarian aid. 

           The UK also discourages companies from putting
           new investment into the country. 

           The Burmese restrictions apply only to the UK. The
           Foreign Office said it was not aware of similar
           restrictions on any other EU state. 

           A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The visa ban is
           an acknowledgement that the UK is at the forefront
           of international action to bring pressure on the
           Burmese regime to improve the human rights and
           political situation in Burma." 

           Mrs Suu Kyi, 50, who is married to an Oxford
           academic, was leader of the National League for
           Democracy, which won a landslide victory in general
           elections in 1990. 

           She had challenged the military after soldiers killed
           hundreds of people as they quelled a mass uprising
           against autocratic rule. 

           The military junta put Mrs Suu Kyi, who won the
           1991 Nobel Peace Prize, under house arrest
           allegedly for inciting unrest. 

           She has since been freed, although she still faces
           restrictions and the military regime is still in power.