European Union-Burma relations - European Parliament

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: 22 languages.
Source/publisher: European Parliament
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English (21 other languages available)
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Individual Documents

Description: "The Commission is releasing an extra €22 million in humanitarian aid to ensure life-saving support for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, as well as Rohingya and other conflict-affected people in Myanmar. The funding will address immediate needs, including protection services, food assistance, nutrition, health and shelter. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "The Rohingya crisis has reached unprecedented proportions and sustained international solidarity is essential to tackle the enduring humanitarian needs. The EU's new aid package underlines our commitment to the most vulnerable refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh, as well as conflict-affected population in Myanmar". With this additional funding, EU humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness support in Bangladesh this year exceeds €41 million, with a focus on addressing the most pressing needs of Rohingyas and their host communities in the country. In Myanmar, EU humanitarian funding now totals over €27 million to respond to increased needs since the military take-over. Background In Bangladesh, over 919,000 Rohingya refugees live in precarious and deteriorating conditions with a majority located in congested Cox's Bazar refugee camps. Approximately 27,000 refugees have been relocated to the island of Bhasan Char. Gaps in humanitarian coverage have a dramatic effect as Rohingya refugees remain entirely dependent on humanitarian aid. In Myanmar, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has sharply increased from 1 million to 14.4 million people since 2021, and there are currently 936 700 internally displaced people reported in the country, while humanitarian access is increasingly constrained. The EU has been actively helping people in Bangladesh (since 2002) and Myanmar (since 1994) with a keen focus on disaster preparedness and emergency response activities, providing life-saving support to Rohingya refugees and funding emergency assistance to people affected by natural hazards..."
Source/publisher: The European Union
2022-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 37.49 KB
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Description: "Yesterday, a special court set up by the Myanmar State Administrative Council in Naypyitaw sentenced detained State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional four years’ imprisonment. The EU’s position, as expressed in its Declaration of 6 December 2021 remains that the trial was politically motivated. It represents another step towards the dismantling of the rule of law and a further blatant violation of human rights in Myanmar and yet another major setback for democracy in Myanmar since the military coup on 1 February 2021. These proceedings are a clear attempt to exclude democratically elected leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, from the inclusive dialogue process called for by ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus. We reiterate our urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners as well as all those arbitrarily detained since the coup..."
Source/publisher: European External Action Service
2022-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "One year ago, on 8 November 2020, the people of Myanmar cast their ballots in large numbers in the country’s general elections. Their choice was clear and their aspirations for democracy explicit. The elections were an important milestone in Myanmar’s democratic transition and were confirmed as transparent by all independent domestic and international observers. The military coup on 1 February 2021 forcibly overthrew the civilian government in blatant violation of the will of the people, with disastrous humanitarian, social, economic and human rights consequences. The announcement to extend the state of emergency until August 2023 under the guise of a “caretaker government” can in no way grant legitimacy to the military regime. The European Union strongly condemns the grave human rights violations by the Myanmar armed forces since then. The current military build-up in the central and northwestern part of the country, including the Sagaing and Magway regions, and the resulting escalation of violence particularly in Chin State, are of deep concern. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the attacks by the Myanmar military on civilians and villages in Chin State, including the use of torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and the destruction of private property and religious sites, which are blatant violations of human rights and international law and call for justice and accountability. The European Union reiterates its calls for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the disproportionate use of force witnessed in recent days. The military authorities must ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all displaced persons and people in need, in all parts of the country. The European Union will continue to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence and is deeply concerned by the combined effects of the conflict, food insecurity and COVID-19 on the population. The escalation of violence led by the Myanmar armed forces also runs counter to the commitments made at the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in April, setting out the “Five Point Consensus”. The European Union continues to call for its immediate and full implementation. The European Union further calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained in connection with the coup, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The European Union welcomes the appointment of Noeleen Heyzer as the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations on Myanmar and welcomes continued close collaboration with the United Nations. The European Union also reiterates its full support for the approach and efforts of ASEAN and the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy, Erywan Yusof, Foreign Minister II of Brunei Darussalam, to engage in a meaningful and inclusive process of dialogue involving all relevant parties in the country, including the National Unity Government and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. The European Union underlines that a meaningful political dialogue must include full, equal and meaningful participation of women, youth and ethnic groups. The European Union welcomes the actions taken by ASEAN in view of its recent summit. The European Union looks forward to engaging closely with Cambodia as the Chair of ASEAN for 2022 and as the chair of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on 24-26 November 2021. The European Union will continue to support ASEAN’s efforts to ensure a peaceful resolution of the current crisis that will ensure the country’s swift return to a democratic path....ပြီးခဲ့သည့်နှစ် ၂၀၂၀ ခုနှစ် နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၈ ရက်နေ့၌ မြောက်မြားလှစွာသော မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထုသည် နိုင်ငံ၏ အထွေထွေရွေးကောက်ပွဲများတွင် အသီးသီးမဲဆန္ဒပြုခဲ့ကြသည်။ ၎င်းတို့၏ ရွေးချယ်မှုသည် တိကျပြတ်သားပြီး ဒီမိုကရေစီရရှိရေးနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ပြင်းပြသောဆန္ဒများမှာလည်း ရှင်းလင်းခိုင်မာနေခဲ့သည်။ ရွေးကောက်ပွဲများသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ ဒီမိုကရေစီအသွင်ကူးပြောင်းရေးလမ်းကြောင်း၌ အရေးပါသော မှတ်တိုင်တစ်ခုဖြစ်ခဲ့ပြီး အမှီအခိုကင်းသော ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပစောင့်ကြည့်လေ့လာသူအားလုံးက အဆိုပါရွေးကောက်ပွဲများကို ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှုရှိကြောင်း အတည်ပြုပေးခဲ့ကြသည်။ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့တွင် ပေါ်ပေါက်ခဲ့သော စစ်တပ်အာဏာသိမ်းမှုသည် ပြည်သူလူထု၏ သဘောဆန္ဒအား ပြောင်တင်းစွာ ဆန့်ကျင်လျက် အရပ်သားအစိုးရကို တရားမဝင်ဖြုတ်ချခဲ့ပြီး ယင်းဖြစ်ရပ်ကြောင့် ဆိုးရွားသော လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု၊ လူမှုရေးနှင့် စီးပွားရေးဆိုင်ရာ အကျိုးဆက်များ ဖြစ်ပေါ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ “အိမ်စောင့်အစိုးရ” အသွင်ဆောင်လျက်ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် အရေးပေါ်အခြေအနေကာလအား ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် အထိ တိုးချဲ့မည်ဟူသော ကြေညာချက်ဖြင့် စစ်အစိုးရကို တရားဝင်အစိုးရအဖြစ် မည်သည့်နည်းနှင့်မျှ ထောက်ခံနိုင်မည်မဟုတ်ပေ။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် မြန်မာတပ်မတော်လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များ ထိုအချိန်ကတည်းက ဆိုးရွားစွာ ကျူးလွန်ထားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ပြင်းထန်စွာရှုတ်ချပါသည်။ စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းနှင့်မကွေးတိုင်းအပါအဝင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအလယ်ပိုင်းနှင့် အနောက်မြောက်ပိုင်းတို့၌ လတ်တလောတွေ့ရသည့် စစ်တပ်အင်အားတိုးချဲ့ခြင်းနှင့် ၎င်း၏ရလဒ်အနေဖြင့် အထူးသဖြင့် ချင်းပြည်နယ်အတွင်း အကြမ်းဖက်မှုမြင့်တက်လာခြင်းတို့သည် အလွန်အမင်းစိုးရိမ်ဖွယ်အခြေအနေများဖြစ်သည်။ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးများနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေတို့ကို ပြောင်တင်းစွာ ချိုးဖောက်မှုများဖြစ်သည့် နှိပ်စက်ညှဉ်းပန်းမှု၊ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှု၊ မတရားသဖြင့် ဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင်မှုနှင့် ပုဂ္ဂလိကအဆောက်အအုံများ၊ ဘာသာရေးနယ်မြေများကို ဖျက်ဆီးမှုတို့အပါအဝင် ချင်းပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ကျေးရွာများနှင့်အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအပေါ် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကို ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂအနေဖြင့် ပြင်းထန်စွာ ရှုတ်ချပြီး တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ခံမှုရှိရန် တောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် လတ်တလောကာလများတွင် မျက်မြင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသည့် စစ်မက်ပြုမှုများနှင့် မလျော်မကန်အင်အားသုံးမှုများ အားလုံးကို ချက်ချင်းရပ်တန့်ရန် ထပ်လောင်းတောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ စစ်တပ်အာဏာပိုင်များအနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံအနှံ့အပြားရှိ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာတိမ်းရှောင်သူများနှင့် အကူအညီလိုအပ်သူများ အားလုံးထံ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာအကူအညီများ မြန်ဆန်ဘေးကင်းပြီး အဆီးအတားမဲ့စွာ လက်လှမ်းမီရောက်ရှိစေရန် ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည်လည်း လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု၊ ဘက်မလိုက်မှု၊ သမာသမတ်ကျမှုနှင့် အမှီအခိုကင်းမှုဆိုင်ရာ အခြေခံမူများနှင့်အညီ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကူအညီများကို ဆက်လက်ပေးအပ်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် စုပြုံသက်ရောက်နေသည့် တိုက်ပွဲများ၊ စားနပ်ရိက္ခာမဖူလုံမှု၊ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကပ်ရောဂါတို့နှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍လည်း အလွန်အမင်း စိုးရိမ်ပူပန်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ မြန်မာတပ်မတော်လက်နက်ကိုင်တပ်ဖွဲ့များ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုမြင့်တက်လာခြင်းသည် “သဘောတူညီချက်ငါးရပ်” ပြဋ္ဌာန်းရာ ဧပြီလတွင်ကျင်းပပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သော အာဆီယံခေါင်းဆောင်များ၏ ထိပ်သီးအစည်းအဝေးတွင် ချမှတ်ခဲ့သည့် သန္နိဋ္ဌာန်များနှင့်လည်း ဆန့်ကျင်နေပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ကို ချက်ချင်းအပြည့်အဝအကောင်အထည်ဖော်ရန် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂက တောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် နိုင်ငံတော်သမ္မတဦးဝင်းမြင့်နှင့် နိုင်ငံတော်၏အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ် ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်အပါအဝင် အာဏာသိမ်းမှုနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ မတရားသဖြင့် ဖမ်းဆီးချုပ်နှောင်ခံထားရသူအားလုံးကို အကြွင်းမဲ့ချက်ချင်းလွှတ်ပေးရန် ထပ်မံတောင်းဆိုပါသည်။ Noeleen Heyzer အား ကုလသမဂ္ဂအထွေထွေအတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ်၏ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာအထူးသံတမန်အဖြစ် ခန့်အပ်မှုနှင့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂနှင့် အနီးကပ်ဆက်လက်၍ ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုတို့အပေါ် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂက လှိုက်လှဲစွာ ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ထို့ပြင် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရနှင့် ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော်ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီတို့အပါအဝင် နိုင်ငံအတွင်းရှိ သက်ဆိုင်ရာပါတီအားလုံးပါဝင်သည့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ပြည့်ဝပြီး အားလုံးပါဝင်သော နှီးနှောဆွေးနွေးရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ကို ချိတ်ဆက်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန်အလို့ငှာ အာဆီယံနှင့်တကွ ဘရူနိုင်းဒါရုဆလမ်၏ ဒုတိယနိုင်ငံခြားရေးဝန်ကြီးတစ်ဖြစ်လဲ အာဆီယံဥက္ကဋ္ဌအထူးသံတမန် Erywan Yusof တို့၏ ချဉ်းကပ်မှုနှင့် အားထုတ်မှုများကို အပြည့်အဝထောက်ခံကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်းထုတ်ပြန်ပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂအနေဖြင့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ပြည့်ဝသည့် နိုင်ငံရေးနှီးနှောဆွေးနွေးပွဲတွင် အမျိုးသမီးများ၊ လူငယ်များနှင့် တိုင်းရင်းသားအုပ်စုများကို အပြည့်အဝ၊ ညီတူညီမျှနှင့် အဓိပ္ပာယ်ရှိရှိ ပူးပေါင်းပါဝင်စေရမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း မီးမောင်းထိုးဖော်ပြလိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် အာဆီယံအနေဖြင့် မကြာသေးမီက ကျင်းပခဲ့သော အာဆီယံထိပ်သီးအစည်းအဝေးကို အကြောင်းပြု၍ လုပ်ဆောင်ခဲ့သည့် လုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များကို ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်တွင် အာဆီယံဥက္ကဋ္ဌဖြစ်ပြီး ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် နိုဝင်ဘာလ ၂၄-၂၆ ရက်နေ့များ၌ ကျင်းပမည့် အာဆီယံဥရောပအစည်းအဝေး (ASEAN) တွင် ဥက္ကဋ္ဌဖြစ်လာမည့် ကမ္ဘောဒီးယားနိုင်ငံနှင့် အနီးကပ်ချိတ်ဆက်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် မျှော်လင့်ပါသည်။ ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအား ဒီမိုကရေစီလမ်းကြောင်းအပေါ် ပြန်လည်ရောက်ရှိစေမည့် လက်ရှိပဋိပက္ခဖြစ်ရပ်များကို အကြမ်းမဖက်ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ ဖြေရှင်းရန် ကြိုးပမ်းနေသော အာဆီယံ၏ အားထုတ်မှုများကို ဆက်လက်ပံ့ပိုးထောက်ခံသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher: European Council (Brussels)
2021-11-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-11-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Dear Excellency, I am delighted to express my sincere appreciation to you and your fellow parliamentarians, on behalf of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw-CRPH and People of Myanmar, for joint motion resolution (2021/2905 (RSP)) on the human rights situation in Myanmar, including the situation of religious and ethnic groups, unanimously adopted by the plenary session of European Parliament on 7 October 2021 in which the European Parliament called for military leadership of Myanmar to fully respect the outcome of the democratic elections of November 2020 and, in order not to devastate all the democratic progress achieved in past years, to immediately reinstate the civilian government, end the state of emergency, and allow all elected parliamentarians to assume their mandates in order to restore constitutional order and democratic norms. Furthermore, we would like to show our heartfelt thanks to you for the resolution to urge the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and all others arrested by Myanmar Junta on unfounded accusations during and after the coup, to support the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw(CRPH) and the National Unity Government(NUG) as the only legitimate representatives of the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar, to continue imposing targeted and robust EU sanctions as well as demanding member states push ahead with targeted restrictive measures against those responsible for the coup. As a legitimate body representing the elected members of parliament, the CRPH (Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) will be working closely with the European parliament for restoring democracy and the resumption of economic and social development in Myanmar through the effective channel of parliamentary diplomacy. We strongly believe that mutual solidarity and camaraderie provided by the international parliamentarians will help us in pursuing a 'Democratic Federal State'. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration..."
Source/publisher: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
2021-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-11
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Description: "The European Parliament has voted to support Myanmar’s shadow government and its parliamentary committee as the legitimate representatives of Myanmar, becoming the first international legislative body to officially endorse the organizations behind the fight against military rule in the Southeast Asian country. The country has been mired in crisis since the military ousted the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government in February, sparking mass protests and a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. After more than eight months, sporadic armed attacks on regime targets and reprisals by junta forces continue. In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament said it “supports the CRPH and the NUG as the only legitimate representatives of the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar,” referring to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CPRH), both of which were formed by ousted elected NLD lawmakers and their ethnic allies in the wake of the Feb. 1 takeover. The motion was passed with 647 votes in favor, two against and 31 abstentions. The EU Parliament’s show of support on Thursday comes as a major embarrassment to the Myanmar military regime, which seeks international recognition as the country’s rightful caretaker government and is struggling against a competing claim by the NUG. Neither the NUG nor the CRPH were immediately available for comment on Friday. Since its formation in April, the NUG has enjoyed popular support at home and abroad. It is supporting striking civil servants and resistance forces against the regime inside the country while lobbying for international acceptance as Myanmar’s legitimate government. Despite some unofficial engagements, however, it has yet to receive diplomatic recognition from foreign countries. Early last month, the shadow government called a nationwide revolt against the regime after deciding that diplomatic pressure was no longer strong enough to topple the junta. The regime has branded the NUG and CRPH as terrorist organizations. Early this week, the French Senate voted unanimously to recognize the NUG. If the French Parliament’s lower house approves the vote, France will become the first country to officially recognize Myanmar’s shadow government. The support from the EU parliament could be In its resolution, the European Parliament also condemned the Myanmar military’s violent response to protesters, as well as its human rights violations against the people following the coup, saying “these ongoing abuses and actions amount to crimes against humanity”. As of Thursday, 1,159 people had been killed by the regime while ethnic and religious minorities have also suffered abuses, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and displacements due to the junta’s clearance operations in anti-regime strongholds. The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all others arrested by the military on unfounded accusations during and after the coup. As ASEAN is playing a mediator role in an effort to resolve the Myanmar crisis, the European Parliament called on the regional bloc and its special envoy to Myanmar to engage with all parties involved, notably with the NUG and representatives of civil society. So far, the regime still hasn’t allowed the envoy to visit the country and the regional bloc has voiced disappointment with the junta’s lack of cooperation. Internationally, the Parliament called on the regime’s allies China and Russia to live up to their responsibility as permanent members of the UN Security Council and said it expects them to play a constructive role when scrutinizing the situation in Myanmar. Both countries have long supported the regime at the council by vetoing critical resolutions by the US, the UK and France. Finally, it urged EU countries to continue imposing targeted and robust sanctions to cut off the economic lifelines of the junta, as well as demanding member states push ahead with targeted restrictive measures against those responsible for the coup..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Mr President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Members States. The Candidate Countries Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro* and Albania*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement. We welcome the successful adoption of the resolution today to which the EU has actively contributed. The General Assembly has spoken out clearly against the military of Myanmar and condemned its abuses of the Myanmar people and their country. They have no support. The General Assembly has also backed the efforts of ASEAN and underlined the complementarity with the work of the UN. This is a rare and significant expression of the General Assembly condemnation in the face of a gross violation of fundamental democratic norms and neglecting the clearly expressed wish of a people. The international community does not accept the coup, and it does not recognize any legitimacy to the regime that emerged from it. We thank ASEAN as well as the other members of the core group for their collaboration to make today’s adoption possible. We are proud to co-sponsor today’s resolution. The European Union continues to condemn the military coup in Myanmar in the strongest terms and calls on the junta to halt its violent repression and intimidation immediately. The will of the people of Myanmar which was clearly expressed in the November 2020 election must be respected. We once again call on the junta to restore power to the elected civilian government, to allow the country to return to its democratic transition and to immediately and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained, arrested or charged in connection with the coup, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other government officials, as well as other civilian and political leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and other members of civil society. We continue to condemn all forms of violence and call for maximum restraint. We also condemn the intimidation of journalists and call for restrictions on access to information and freedom of expression to be lifted. Accountability is crucial. The culture of impunity that reigns within the Myanmar military and security forces must end. The EU reiterates its support for the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the International Criminal Court in this regard. We call on the Myanmar authorities to fully implement the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice. The European Union remains very concerned about the ongoing discrimination against people belonging to ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya. We recall that Myanmar must address the root causes of conflict and displacement in ethnic areas, including in Rakhine State, and create conditions necessary for the safe, voluntary, sustainable and dignified return of refugees and displaced persons. Recent statements from the National Unity Government regarding the review of the citizenship law are a positive step. We acknowledge the generosity of Bangladesh in hosting Rohingya refugees. We will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need and call for full and unhindered humanitarian access. All parties to conflict have a responsibility to protect civilians. Mr. President, Today’s resolution is the first step. The EU will continue to support democracy, human rights and prosperity in Myanmar. We support all initiatives aimed at facilitating dialogue and call on the international community to mobilize for democracy in Myanmar. We recognize the important role of ASEAN in this regard and look forward to the swift implementation of the five-point consensus agreed almost two months ago. We reiterate our support for the efforts of the UN, including Special Envoy Schraner Burgener who has worked tirelessly to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation and we thank for today’s briefing. We welcome an active role for the UN Security Council. We call on all Member States to exercise caution and avoid providing recognition to the military junta. There can be no business as usual. At a national level the EU welcomes the efforts of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) as well as the National Unity Government (NUG) and other pro-democracy forces working towards a peaceful resolution of the current crisis. Mr. President, We will not let this coup stand. Together with our international partners we have adopted targeted sanctions against those responsible. These measures avoid adverse impact on the people of Myanmar. Our sanctions regime also includes an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression. We call on all members of the international community to follow suit in line with today’s resolution. We will continue to keep other policy options under review with a view to ensuring the restoration of Myanmar’s path towards democracy. The people of Myanmar must know that the EU is on their side. We hear you and we are with you. I thank you..."
Source/publisher: Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations - New York
2021-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Experts say the EU's new sanctions against Myanmar raise questions over a contradiction in policy, which calls on ASEAN to take the lead in mediation. There is also concern over how effective the sanctions will be.
Description: "Questions have been raised over the EU's exact objectives regarding Myanmar, after its foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, last Thursday said that a third round of sanctions will soon be imposed on the country's military and economic interests. Following its February 1 coup, which overthrew the recently reelected civilian government headed by national icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the military is believed to have killed at least 845 people, the majority of whom were civilians who participated in nationwide pro-democracy protests. The coup has also escalated the country's seven-decade-old insurgencies, with several ethnic militia groups now cooperating to oppose the junta. The National Unity Government, an underground government composed of opponents of the military junta, including ousted parliamentarians, also recently announced the creation of their own militia, the People's Defense Force. As tensions continue to escalate, the majority of foreign powers, including the EU, have publicly backed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in taking the lead to mediate a resolution to the conflict. Situation beyond ASEAN's reach However, the situation now appears to be beyond the reach of ASEAN, for whom the Myanmar crisis represents its biggest and most difficult test in decades. The junta's continued violence and repression go against the five-point consensus it agreed to with ASEAN in April. And Myanmar's pro-democracy movement now says it doesn't trust ASEAN's interlocutors, especially as there appears to be little chance that the bloc can mediate a deal that allows the now-banned National League for Democracy (NLD) to return to power, or even to politics. Moreover, accusations have been made that the EU is sanctioning the same Myanmar officials that ASEAN may soon confer legitimacy upon, if the bloc's eventual resolution allows the junta to remain in power until new elections are held, which are likely to be rigged by the military. The EU first agreed to impose sanctions on several officials in Myanmar's military junta and its aligned companies in mid-February. But it took several weeks for the measures to be formally adopted. A second round of sanctions in April targeted a dozen more junta officials, as well as key military-owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation.....A hazy relationship with oil companies: However, one notable exception so far from the sanctions list is the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with close connections to the military's business assets. "It is imperative that the EU sanctions Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and junta-controlled banks to cut the flow of revenue financing the military's international crimes," said Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice for Myanmar, a research activist group. "The most significant single source of revenue for the military is from oil and gas, channeled through offshore accounts belonging to state-owned banks," Maung added. "This is wealth that belongs to the people of Myanmar, who have made clear their absolute rejection of the coup." In late May, petroleum giants Total SA and Chevron — French and American-owned, respectively — announced that they had terminated cash payments to the junta, the dividends they derive from transporting gas from Myanmar's offshore Yadana field to the mainland and to neighboring Thailand. Both international firms are majority owners of Moattama Gas Transportation Company, the pipeline company that transports the gas. MOGE owns a 15% share. Maung also called on the EU to push for a global arms embargo on Myanmar. Brussels has frozen the sale and transfer of weapons to the country, while the United Nations earlier introduced a non-binding resolution for an arms embargo. However, the ASEAN bloc has opposed the UN resolution. It remains to be seen whether MOGE, as well as other lucrative military-run entities, will be part of the new sanctions promised by Borrell last week during his visit to Jakarta.....'A comprehensive and balanced approach': Nabila Massrali, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said she "would not speculate" on what the new sanctions will entail as they are still being discussed in Brussels. Massrali described the bloc's measures as "a comprehensive and balanced approach," adding that: "These measures have been carefully crafted to avoid a further negative impact on the Myanmar population. They send a strong signal to the military junta that the EU holds them accountable for their actions and they impose clear costs on their behavior." Given that EU sanctions were only imposed in March and April, she said it is "too soon to assess the impact of these measures." In early May, a study made by 10 foreign chambers of commerce in Myanmar found that 13% of surveyed companies had ceased business activity in the country since the coup, and a third reported at least a 75% reduction in their activity. According to some commentators, however, sanctions may have dented the military's coffers but are almost certain not to force it to its knees. After all, the military, known locally as the Tatmadaw, ruled Myanmar as a hermetic state from 1962 until 2011, when it tentatively accepted a democratic shift and allowed the NLD to form a civilian government after a resounding victory at the 2015 general election. 'No evidence' that sanctions are effective "There is no evidence so far that the sanctions have caused any change within the military junta, which continues to use violence and imprisonment to silence democratic opposition," said Htwe Htwe Thein, an associate professor of international business at Curtin University in Perth. In part, this is because almost none of the military's financial assets is held in EU bank accounts, and the majority of large foreign companies doing businesses in Myanmar aren't European. "Of course, there are travel and visa bans for key officials — so officials and their families cannot plan to go to Paris on holiday," Thein noted. On the one hand, she added, EU sanctions have "symbolic effects" in supporting international condemnation of the junta's actions, and may also pressure other governments to follow suit. "Therefore, they are more effective than they seem," she said. Yet many other nations haven't followed the EU's example. Singapore, the largest investor in Myanmar, has opposed sanctions, as have other major investors Japan and China. Who is in charge of mediation? Confusing matters further, the EU is ramping up its sanctions against Myanmar's junta, but at the same time, is trusting the ASEAN bloc to mediate a solution that may end up conferring legitimacy on the same people that Brussels has targeted. The EU "should be very careful and discerning in allowing ASEAN to lead the diplomatic efforts and set agendas," said Thien. When announcing further sanctions on a visit to Jakarta last week, EU foreign policy chief Borrell reiterated that efforts "to find a political solution for the Myanmar situation belongs to ASEAN." He added that the regional bloc's interlocutors are "doing the best possible job." Not everyone agrees. Even Thailand, whose current ruling party and prime minister came to power through a military coup in 2014, said this week it was concerned that Myanmar's junta is not sticking to the five-point "consensus" it agreed to with ASEAN in April, which committed the military to ending violence and opening political talks with other groups. Following the visit last week by two ASEAN envoys to Naypyitaw, the National Unity Government said, "we no longer have any faith in ASEAN's efforts, and we have no expectation." Last weekend, pro-democracy protesters in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, set fire to ASEAN flags to show their anger at the bloc's ongoing talks with the junta. Brussels may have backed itself into a corner by imposing sanctions, yet intimating that it will support an ASEAN-led resolution to the crisis. 'A compromised solution' "If ASEAN finds a 'solution' it would be a very compromised solution — such as scarcely believable promises of future 'free and fair elections' and an end to military violence against pro-democracy supporters," said Thein. "Chances are that the EU wouldn't be able to accept such false 'solutions,' given the EU's democratic values and policies. What to do then?," she added. Indeed, if Brussels follows an ASEAN outcome that essentially accepts the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, then the EU will presumably have to end its sanctions. If not, and sanctions remain, Brussels will be seen as disagreeing with ASEAN's resolution. The EU spokesperson did not directly address this issue when asked by DW. "Violence and repression will not grant legitimacy to the military junta. Only a credible political dialogue, aimed at restoring the democratic institutions and which takes into account the will of Myanmar's people, as expressed in last November's elections, can ensure sustainable peace and a credible democracy," Massrali said, referring to the NLD's victory at a general election last year, which the military argued was rigged. "The EU will monitor closely the developments and re-assess its policy, including in relation to sanctions, based on the situation on the ground."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The European Union on Sunday denounced a proposal by Myanmar's junta-appointed election commission to dissolve deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which overwhelmingly won the general election in November. "If the Commission were to proceed with this proposal, it would show yet again the junta's blatant disregard for the will of Myanmar's people and for due legal process," a spokeswoman of the EU's executive Commission said in a statement. On Friday, media cited the chairman of the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC), Thein Soe, as saying the panel would have to dissolve the NLD for committing vote fraud in the November election. Myanmar's army seized power on Feb. 1, overthrowing and detaining the elected civilian leader Suu Kyi, who led a non-violent struggle against dictatorship in the last two decades of the military's 1962-2011 rule of Myanmar. The military justified its coup by accusing the NLD of obtaining a landslide victory through a manipulated vote, though the electoral commission at that time rejected its complaints. The NLD says it won fairly. The EU echoed the NLD's position, underscoring the party's victory had been confirmed by all independent domestic and international observers. "No repression or unfounded pseudo-legal proceedings can grant legitimacy to the junta’s illegal takeover of power," the spokeswoman for the EU Commission said. "The EU will continue to denounce all attempts to overturn the will of the Myanmar people and to alter the outcome of the last general elections."..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "We have heard the statement of U Thein Soe, the junta-appointed chairman of the Union Election Commission, according to which the Commission may dissolve the National League for Democracy, which overwhelmingly won the last general elections in November. If the Commission were to proceed with this proposal, it would show yet again the junta’s blatant disregard for the will of Myanmar’s people and for due legal process. The EU reiterates that the elections in November faithfully represented the will of Myanmar’s people. This was confirmed by all independent domestic and international observers. No arbitrary decision by the military junta and their illegally-appointed members of the Electoral Commission can cancel that. The EU will continue to denounce all attempts to overturn the will of the Myanmar people and to alter the outcome of the last general elections. No repression or unfounded pseudo-legal proceedings can grant legitimacy to the junta’s illegal takeover of power. Only respecting the will of the people can bring Myanmar back onto its democratic path and deliver stability and sustainable development..."
Source/publisher: European External Action Service
2021-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2008-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (22 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2007-09-06
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2007-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2007-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2005-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2005-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (22 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2004-03-11
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2003-03-13
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2000-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2000-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2004-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (22 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2002-04-11
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages avaialble)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2001-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2006-12-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2006-12-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
2000-11-16
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
1999-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (9 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
1995-12-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (9 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament,
1995-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Ford Glyn
2002-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Kinnock Glenys
2001-03-01
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Cushnahan John
2001-04-05
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Eriksson Marianne
2003-04-03
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, van den Bos Bob
2002-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Kinnock Glenys
2001-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Bowis John
2000-07-11
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Evans Robert
2002-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Tannock Charles
2002-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Maij-Weggen Hanja
2002-10-23
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Cossutta Armando
2002-11-08
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament, Sartori Amalia
2002-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Creator/author: Hanja MAIJ-WEGGEN
Source/publisher: European Parliament
1999-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Creator/author: James MOORHOUSE
Source/publisher: European Parliament,
1999-03-01
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Creator/author: Graham WATSON
Source/publisher: European Parliament
1998-11-16
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Creator/author: Glenys KINNOCK
Source/publisher: European Parliament,
1998-11-25
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (10 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2009-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2010-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (21 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2010-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (21 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2008-10-23
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2008-04-24
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (22 other languages available)
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2003-09-04
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament
2008-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: European Parliament via EBO
2003-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
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