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Alexander Downer's IHT Article on B (r)



> International Herald Tribune
> August 23, 1999
>
> A Start to Help Set Burmese on the Road to Human Rights
> By Alexander Downer (the Australian foreign minister)
>
> The question of Burma has vexed the international community for the entire
> 11 years since the current military-backed government assumed power in
> Rangoon. Australia believes that now is the time to engage the regime in a
> serious dialogue on the protection and promotion of human rights in Burma.
>
> Such a dialogue is one way of improving the lot of ordinary Burmese. It is
> also a means of drawing the regime into a discussion on issues that have
> caused great concern outside Burma. To do nothing is to fail to confront
> the problem.
>
> Simply shouting from the sidelines has apparently achieved nothing. It is
> one thing to criticize the Burmese government - and we have done a great
> deal of that - but we are also looking at other initiatives to help
> alleviate the plight of the people in Burma.
>
> That is why two months agoI suggested to the then Burmese foreign minister,
> U Ohn Gyaw, that Rangoon consider setting up an independent national human
> rights institution, as Indonesia did some years ago under the regime of
> President Suharto. I believed that such an approach would provide a way
> through which Burma could work to guarantee human rights within its own
> jurisdiction.
>
> I pursued my proposal with the present foreign minister, U Win Aung, when I
> met him in Singapore late last month at the annual post-ministerial
> conference of the Association of South East Asian Nations. It was in this
> context that Australia's human rights comissioner, Chris Sidoti, visited
> Burma this month to discuss with officials there the possible role of an
> independent human rights institution.
>
> Prior to Mr. Sidoti's visit, two middle-ranking Burmese officials visited
> Australia in mid-July for an introduction to the Australian approach to
> national human rights institutions, and for broad discussions on human rights.
>
> Australia's experience has been that work toward the establishment of
> national human rights organizations by governments seeking to respond to
> the concerns of the international community can make a positive impact over
> the longer term.
>
> The fact that the Burmese government can see the point of such a body,
> although it has yet to make up its mind about how it would work, is a good
> step forward.
>
> I have no illusions. This is a first step in what will be an incremental
> process. But we want to do what we can to encourage an improvement in human
> rights in Burma.
>
> Ultimately, setting up a national human rights institution will need a firm
> commitment from the Burmese themselves.I am well aware that the development
> of a genuinely independent body, if indeed that is possible, would take a
> considerable length of time. It would also have to be established according
> to internationally accepted standards.
>
> To be blunt, if the Burmese were to construct a bricks and mortar
> institution next week, it would not be credible. Our immediate objective is
> to engage the key figures in a process of dialogue to better promote and
> protect human rights.
>
> I know that there are those who do not accept that it is possible to talk
> to the regime about human rights issues. The opposition National League for
> Democracy led by Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that
> our proposal is ''misguided.'' But human rights are a matter of
> international concern, and as their protection is the responsibility of the
> national government, we have to deal with the government. We have kept the
> league informed about developments concerning the proposal, and will
> continue to do so.
>
> The Australian government's policy on Burma remains focused on the key
> goals of advancing the cause of democracy and promoting greater respect for
> human rights. I have consistently called on the Burmese government to enter
> into substantive discussions as soon as possible with the league and ethnic
> minorities, leading to genuine political reform.
>
> We owe it to the Burmese people to find creative ways to encourage reform
> and reconciliation in their country.
>
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