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BBC-Burmese generals urged to resum



Subject: BBC-Burmese generals urged to resume dialogue 

Tuesday, July 6, 1999 Published at 17:14 GMT 18:14 UK
World: Asia-Pacific

Burmese generals urged to resume dialogue

A delegation from the European Union has arrived in Burma to try to re-open
dialogue with the ruling military junta.
Relations have effectively been frozen since the EU imposed sanctions on
Burma in l996 over the junta's human rights record.

The sanctions include a ban on visas for senior government officials.

Members of the delegation say the visit represents a fresh attempt to
persuade the government to begin meaningful talks with the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD).

As well as seeing the military leadership, the four envoys are expected to
meet the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom the military leaders
refuse to meet.

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the junta declared the
result void and refused to hand over power.

Opportunity for progress

BBC South East Asia Correspondent Simon Ingram says the EU apparently senses
an opportunity to make headway in resolving one of Asia's most intractable
political disputes.

However, European officials are keen to play down expectations of any major
breakthroughs saying the aim is simply to resume dialogue.

Finland's ambassador in Bangkok, Tauno Kaaria, said the main purpose of the
talks would be to see "how the EU could be active in promoting the human
rights and democracy situation in the country."

Last year a similar mission by a UN envoy intended to encourage talks
between the government and Ms Suu Kyi ended in failure.

In the months that followed the Rangoon authorities stepped up pressure on
the NLD, forcing thousands of its members to resign and detaining many
others at what are euphemistically termed "government guesthouses".

Renewed efforts

Europe has both political and economic motives for renewing its efforts to
get the government and opposition talking.

The Burma question has undermined the EU's relationship with the Asean
regional group of countries, which admitted Burma to its ranks two years
ago.

Earlier this year the ban on Burmese officials receiving visas forced the
cancellation of an EU-Asean foreign minister's meeting in Germany.

There is also the incentive of substantial investment and business
opportunities inside Burma, which would doubtless appear in an improved
political climate.
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