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ASEAN NGOs Urge ASEAN-EU Meeting



ALTERNATIVE ASEAN NETWORK ON BURMA
c/- FORUM-ASIA, 109 Suthisarnwinichai Rd, Samsennok, Huaykwang,
Bangkok 10320.  Tel: ++ 66 2 276 9846 - 7.  Fax: ++ 66 2 276 2183
<chalida@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

For Release on Feb. 12

MEDIA RELEASE:
ASEAN NGOs Urge ASEAN-EU Meeting: Help stop Burma violations

A network of 50 ASEAN-based NGOs have written to participants of the
12th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting, calling for the meeting to give
their strongest support to the immediate cessation of human rights
violations and the commencement of dialogue between Burm's Slorc
regime, the Aung San Suu Kyi-led democracy movement and ethnic
nationalities.
                      
The Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma cited the recent attacks by Slorc
and Slorc-organized troops against unarmed refugee camps in Thailand as
another  example of how the military regime abused the spirit and letter
of Burma's Union Day holiday (Feb. 12) by committing atrocities against
ethnic nationality people, as well as majority Burmans and religious
minorities.

This year, Union Day marks the 50th anniversary of the Panglong Agreement
between ethnic nationality leaders and Independence hero Aung San to
form a Union of Burma.  It recognizes the equality and rights of
ethnic peoples in Burma.  However, since Aung San's assassination in
1948, the content of the Panglong Agreement was gradually eroded, and
eventually removed from Burma's Constitution.

Speaking in Manila at the regional launch of a multilingual poster questioning
ASEAN support for the Slorc, Network Coordinator Debbie Stothard described the
long-running crisis in Burma as an issue of concern common to ASEAN and the EU.

"While human rights violations hurt us all, there is also the
practical issue of regional and economic security. The effects of Slorc abuse
and mismanagement have been spilling over its borders. The combination of
the problems resulting from mammoth illicit drug production, the unchecked
HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the teetering Burmese economy will escalate and have
dire consequences on us all. The time to do something is now, and the
place to start is the ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting", she stressed.

The ASEAN-Burma poster is also being launched in Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala
Lumpur.


ENDS