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THE POSTPONEMENT OF EU-ASEAN MEETIN (r)



Subject: THE POSTPONEMENT OF EU-ASEAN MEETING

27-Jan-99, 11:30AM.

General Aung San in his famous "Burma's Challenges(1946)" wrote, "...as
we all know, events in the world are organically connected with one
another, and whether we like it not we are influenced by them".
Following  EU-ASEAN meeting postponement has been one of the undesirable
influence of Burmese military regime on ASEAN member states. SPDC/SLORC
leaders should not ignore the effect of the ugly repressions in Burma ,
of which its consequences  have been brough to bear upon ASEAN states.
The ASEAN states, more than ever before , have needed the help from
European Union because of the financial crisis. It should note that
because of the ignorance and irresponsibility of Burmese military
leaders, the ASEAN states have to endure such miserable situation.

With best regards, U Ne Oo.

"Some quotes from Burma's new loose cannon"
***********************************
3/1/99AP: "Myanmar's foreign minister hopes his country's frosty
relations with the United States and the European Union will warm in
1999, NLM"

23/1/99REUTERS:"Singapore said on Saturday a meeting between the
Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and the European Commission
(EC) had been postponed because of differences over Myanmar's
participation."

********
Sunday January 3 8:56 AM ET
Myanmar Eyes Better U.S., EU Ties

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's foreign minister hopes his country's
frosty relations with the United States and the European Union will warm
in 1999, a state-run newspaper reported Sunday.

The United States imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar in April 1997
because of the military government's suppression of a democracy movement
led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime's
alleged failure to fight drug trafficking.

The European Union has imposed more limited trade sanctions on the
country for similar reasons.

The embargos have hampered Myanmar's ability to attract the foreign
investment it needs to modernize its impoverished economy.

``I hope that friendship and cooperation with the E.U. and its members
and the U.S. could be regained as in previous years,'' Foreign Minister
Win Aung told diplomats at a briefing, the New Light of Myanmar

Newspaper said.

Win Aung also said that Myanmar, also known as Burma, hoped to increase
its role in international affairs.

In recent months, the military government has stepped up its campaign
against Suu Kyi's political party, detaining nearly a thousand of its
members and refusing to let them return home until they sign ``voluntary
resignation'' letters from the party.
     - - - - - - - - - - -
ASEAN-EU meeting postponed over Myanmar issue
07:29 a.m. Jan 23, 1999 Eastern
SINGAPORE, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Saturday a meeting
between the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and the European
Commission

(EC) had been postponed because of differences over Myanmar's
participation.

The postponement was the second for the 13th ASEAN-EC Joint Cooperation
Committee Meeting, originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok in
November 1997, a statement from the Singapore foreign ministry said.

European Union sanctions against ASEAN member Myanmar, imposed to show
disapproval of its human rights record, include bans on non-humanitarian
aid, arms sales and high level meetings between EU and Myanmar
officials.

Singapore press reports said the planned talks between ASEAN and the
EU's executive Commission foundered over EU member countries' refusal to
sit at the same table with Myanmar officials.

``It is a pity that the 13th ASEAN-EC Joint Cooperation Meeting (JCC)
scheduled for 24-27 January...in Bangkok has been postponed over
differences between ASEAN and the EU on the modality of Mynamar's
participation,''the Singapore foreign ministry said.

The Singapore statement said the city state considered the relationship
between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
European Union an important one and hoped the meeting would be held
soon.

ASEAN member Myanmar is a frequent target of Western human rights
groups, with much of the fire concentrated on the military government's
treatment of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN groups Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
--

HTTP://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/~uneoo
EMAILS: drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx, uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
POSTMAIL: Dr U Ne Oo, 18 Shannon Place, Adelaide SA 5000, AUSTRALIA
[http://freeburma.org/[http://www.angelfire.com/al/homepageas/index.htm]

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