urgent request NGOs email

[cd@xxxxxxxxxx]

Euro-Burmanet requests anyone with information or info sources for emails 
that may have been at this asem conference to please now send them to us 
here at Euro-Burmanet so that we may make them, clearly and 
virtually available, and useful now. thank you dawn star, paris 




Headline: Asia- Europe NGOs Conclude Historic Conference on Citizens'  
Links  between Two Continents
Keywords: NLD ban,  National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu 
Kyi, human rights, political prisoners, torture, murder, execution, rape, 
Slorc abuses, forced labor, forced relocation, Joint Asia-Europe NGO 
conference,
Date: July 24, 1996 
Source: BNN,FBC, Caroline Lurie <caroline@xxxxxxxxxx
Section: ebn
Rubrique: main

Over 350 women and men representing 100 peoples' organization and  
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participated in the first Joint 
Asia-Europe NGO conference with the theme  "beyond Geopolitics and  
Geoeconomics: Towards a New Relationship Between Asia and Europe" between 
Feb 27-29 in Bangkok. This conference was held as a parallel to the 
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) scheduled to be held between March 1-2 between 
10  Southeast Asian and 15 European heads of State.
 
 The conference called on the Asian governments 

1/  to reject the Multilateal Investment Agreement promoted by the 
European Union and the World TradeOrganization.

2/ The NGO meeting also unanimously endorsed the parallel
 withdrawal of France from French Polynesia and New Caledonia
 supervised by the European Union (EU) and of Indonesia from East Timor
 under the auspices of ASEAN. 

The conference also demanded that Asem governments to end repression and 
harassment of NGOs and end the climateof fear in which they currently 
operate in.
 
 At the same time, the conference recognized the challenges confronting
 Asia and Europe and decided to work towards creating a shared vision and
 a common programme of action between the two continents based that goes
 beyond a narrow obsession with economic growth.
 
 The participants were of the views that centering relations on mere
 geopolitical and geoeconomic consideration, Asem is primarily serving 
the
 narrow interests of dominant elite in the two regions.
 
 It is in the context that the participants sought to put forwards an
 alternative vision that would be people-centered,. socially just,
 economically equitable, ecologically sustainable and politically
 participatory. Such a vision would embody respect for human rights and
 human dignity and nurture the spiritual, moral, intellectual and 
cultural lives of all individuals and
 communities in both the regions.
 
 Towards this end, the conference urged for transparency and
 accountability in the Asem process. The participation of citizens in the
 decision-making process of governments in both continents should not be
 just limited to parliamentarians an business people.
 
 Participants agreed that organizations of workers, women, indigenous and
 tribal communities, popular organizations and NGOs have to be also
 included. In this regard, the conference declaration expressed the 
desire
 to look forward to a continuing dialogue and to the establishment of the
 mechanisms that would facilitate this. This demands social commitment 
and political will
 on the part of governments of Asia And Europe.
 
 As part of this process, the 25 governments should ensure that women's
 human rights are respected and promoted and that the benefits of 
economic
 development are shared more equitably.
 
 The conference endorsed that respect for human rights should be central
 to Asia-Europe relations and emphasized that participating countries in
 Asem are all signatories to UN summit declarations (Rio 1992, Vienna
 1993, Cairo 1994, Copenhagen and Beijing 1995). As of suchconference
 participants reminded
 Asem governments to remember their obligations and responsibilities 
under
 these convenants and given utmost respect to the protection of human 
rights.
 
 The conference condemned violations of human rights of the people of
 Northern Ireland as well as those of East Timor and Burma.
 
 On Northern Ireland, the conference condemned the inaction of the 
British
 government over the last 18 months in relations to the ongoing conflict.
 The conference also urged the British government to immediately 
establish
 inclusive all party negotiations which should lead to a comprehensive
 political
 settlement  and include burning issues such as policing, release of
 political prisoners, demilitarization of all parties in the conflict and
 adherence to international human rights standards.
 
 The first Asia-Europe NGO conference strongly condemned what it
 characterized as the shameless efforts of the Indonesian government to
 prevent any discussion of East Timor at Asem, and strongly criticized
 governments such as the Philippines and Thailand for bowing to 
Indonesian
 pressure. It
 vigorously protested against the decision of the Thai government not to
 allow the East Timorese resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta to visit
 Thailand in order to attend this NGO conference.
 
 The conference went on record as being deeply concerned about the 
ongoing
 gross violations of human rights in East Timor and called for the
 nconditionally released of Xanana Gusmao and all East Timorese political
 leaders. Also the conference firmly endorsed East Timor's demand for
 self-determination and welcomed the growing movement of solidarity with
 East Timor in the countries of Southeast Asia and Europe.
 
 On Burma, the conference urged the Asia and Europe governments to 
suspend
 political and economic relations with Slorc until the latter entered 
into
 dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and released all political prisoners. The
 confrence also called on the Slorc to recognized the results of the 1990
 election won by the National Lague for Democracy.
 
 Among the other recommendations to the Asem delegates were the 
following:
 1. The Asian leaders should demand that the EU radically revise the
 Common Agricultural Policy  (CAP) so as to end the heavy subsidization 
of
 European agriculture that has encouraged the EU to dump agricultural
 products in Asian and other developing countries, thus causing 
tremendous
 hardship for
 Asian farmers and threatening food security.
 
 2. The Asem governments should ratify and implement the provisions of 
the
 UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and cease violating their
 political and economic rights.
 
 3. The European Union governments must phase out conventional arms sales
 to Asia that have triggered an arms race in the region.
 
 4. Asem governments must be serious about the commitments to conclude 
the
 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and are urged to negotiate a treaty
 specifying a rigid timetable for nuclear disarmament that would serve as
 a necessary companion to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
 
 5. Asian leaders must resist EU demands via the WTO to open up their
 telecommunications, maritime, and other sectors, or risk the bankruptcy
 of local industries and greater exploitation of the work force by
 multinational companies.
 
 The First Asia-Europe NGO Conference has paved the way for people in the
 two continents to create  new relationship that transcends geopolitics 
and geoeconomics.


Dawn Star (Paris)
cd@xxxxxxx
Burmanet TOTAL Coordinator 
Euro-Burmanet
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