WILL EUROPEAN UNION FREEZE OUT BURM

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: WILL EUROPEAN UNION FREEZE OUT BURMA?


19970610 

         Will European Union freeze out Myanmar? 


By Shada Islam 

EUROPEAN Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg last week issued a
laconic
two-paragraph reaction to Asean's decision to admit Myanmar. Europe hoped
for "continued
close cooperation" with Asean, the brief statement said. 

Both sides shared the common values of democracy and human rights which
Myanmar would
now also be expected to respect, the statement added. But the conciliatory
public line masks
continuing divergences within the EU on how to deal with Myanmar. And behind
the scenes, EU
officials and diplomats say they are worried that the Asean move on Myanmar
could jeopardise
the growing relationship between the two regions. 

"Clearly we can't interfere in Asean's decisions on membership," an EU
diplomat stressed. "But,
we can't hide the fact that Myanmar's entry into Asean will create problems." 

At the meeting in Luxembourg, Germany and France argued in favour of a
cautious European line
on Myanmar. Their other EU partners went along with the idea, but EU
insiders stress that
Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands continue to favour stronger European
action against the
country. 

Britain, which once sided with the softly-softly line taken by Germany and
France, now has a
Labour government which is publicly committed to more active protection of
human rights.
European diplomats and officials specialising in relations with Asia warn
that given these
differences of opinion in the EU, Myanmar's membership of Asean will present
Europe with a
"difficult challenge" in the coming months. 

The difficulties ahead will be both political and of a more practical
nature, they say. European
governments will be under pressure from their human rights groups, trade
unions and
parliamentarians to stop any direct or indirect dealings with a military
government that they
routinely accuse of violating human rights. 

"The European Parliament won't hesitate to criticise us if there's any
friendly gesture towards
Myanmar," warns an EU diplomat. European Commissioner Manuel Marin told Asean in
Singapore in February that the European Parliament would never ratify
Myanmar's protocol of
accession to the EU-Asean cooperation treaty. 

This means in effect that Myanmar will not be able to benefit from any
aspects of the EU-Asean
agreement. Others in the EU say that Myanmar's entry into Asean will present
Europe with a host
of practical challenges. 

"Don't forget that all 15 European governments have agreed that there will
be no high-level
contacts with the Burmese military authorities," an EU official said. "Also,
Burmese government
officials cannot be given visas to travel to Europe." 

EU officials have met Yangon's military leaders at international gatherings
in the past, including a
meeting of the Asian Regional Forum last year. Next month, a "troika" of EU
foreign ministers will
go to Kuala Lumpur for talks with Asean -- which by then will include
Myanmar as a member. 

But there's a difference between sitting in the same room as Myanmar
representatives and
actually talking to them about future regional cooperation, EU officials say. 

"A great deal will depend on the attitude adopted by Asean itself," one
European diplomat
commented. "If Asean insists that we talk to Myanmar, then there could be a
problem. But,
frankly, we want to avoid a clash." 

The hope in Brussels is that both sides will be able to find a modus vivendi
allowing Europe to deal
with the group's seven original members, while keeping Myanmar out of the
link-up. 

"Our hope is that everyone will be flexible on this issue," another European
diplomat stressed. "For
us, cooperation with Asean is very important." 

Asean's decision to admit Myanmar comes at an important time in relations
between the two
groups. Both sides have agreed to expand their political and economic ties.
A new programme of
action is set to be approved by senior officials from both sides in Bangkok
in autumn. 

While they clearly were not able to persuade Asean to keep out Myanmar, EU
governments
have made it clear that Yangon will not be asked to join the wider
Euro-Asian dialogue known as
ASEM. Ten European and East Asian leaders are set to meet in London next
spring for the
second ASEM summit. Britain, which will host the meeting, has said Myanmar
will not be invited.

The writer is a Brussels-based journalist who contributes to BT