12/7/99:EU MISSION AND ASEAN MEETIN

[drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: 12/7/99:EU MISSION AND ASEAN MEETING ON 22-28JULY.

POSTED 12 JULY 1999; 9:00AM.

EUROPEAN UNION FACT-FINDING MISSION AND
FORTHCOMING ASEAN MEETING, JULY 22-28.

The EU's  proposal to send a fact-finding 'troika' mission to Burma was
broke on June 30 by Reuters. As we all know, the EU diplomats have
visited Rangoon last week and met with Burmese generals as well as Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy leaders. The United State Government is
also supportive to this EU  mission to Burma.

NEED FOR FACT-FINDING MISSION

It appears that such fact-finding mission is a common practice for
mediation of dispute. In complex disputes, such as in our case in Burma,
the international mediators must firstly find out the position of the
disputing parties. In our Burma's case, the mediator will determine
whether there has been common ground for settling the dispute. For
example, the mission may assess crucial factors such as whether the NLD
and SPDC/SLORC  are in a position to share power with each other and
NLD&SPDC/SLORC position as regards to ethnic minorities. The main
purpose of this mission appears to be find out whether international
mediation is possible. In any case, we welcome the EU initiative to
establish dialogue with Burma and to help mediate Burma dispute. To some
extent, I am pleased that the mission is able to meet ASSK and other
leaders. Nevertheless, much more work is needed in order that the
dialogue in Burma come into realization.

EU POSITION ON BURMA AND ASEAN CONCERNS

The EU position on Burma is well known: EU has enforced a stringent visa
ban on top Burmese junta officials. The EU has also recognised the
Committee Representing People's Parliament formally(see EU resolution on
14 April 1999). The EU position on Burmese junta has led to calcallation
of ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee meetings in last January.
During May 1999 ASEAN-EU JCC meeting, only low level Burmse delegation
as observer was allowed to attend by the EU. With continuing political
impasse in Burma, and with EU's stands on Burmese junta, ASEAN itself
need to take certain stand on Burma. In fact, the recent admission of EU

mission to Burma by SPDC/SLORC can be interpreted as the Burmese junta
(& ASEAN colleagues) trying to soften this EU's policy on Burma.

As we know, the ASEAN and its dialogue partners will hold their annual
general meetings, AMM/ARF/PMC, at Singapore on 22-28 July 1999. 1/ Since
the Burmese junta has already refused to accept the international
mediation (see following 10/7/99 Reuters report), and hence refuse to
move towards dialogue, we must urge the EU to stand firm on its current
position on Burma. In addition, we must urge the dialogue partners of
ASEAN, especially the Government of United States (& Australia, of
course),  to fortify this EU position at forthcoming ASEAN meetings.
Followings is the suggested action:

1. The ASEAN should not allow SPDC/SLORC appointed foreign minister, U
Win Aung, to attend the AMM/ARF/PMC meetings in Singapore, unless Burma
accept the international mediation and prepare to start a dialogue.
Because ASEAN meetings require to present Burma as a country formally,
only the resident Ambassador of Burma in Singapore should be allowed to
attend the meeting.

2. The EU is to be fully supported for its initiative on international
mediation and dialogue in Burma. And we should also ask EU to maintain
its tough stand as regards to Burma at this ASEAN meetings. The EU
should continue demanding Burmese Foreign minister be excluded from the
ASEAN meetings, unless Burmese junta accept the international mediation
and to start dialogue with opposition.

3. The ASEAN dialogue partners (Australia[does not impose visa ban on
junta], Canada, NewZealand, Japan, ROK and United States) should all
support the EU position  with  regards to Burma at this ASEAN meeting.

N.B: We will only have short time to campaign. The facsimile and emails
campaign will be more suitable for this action. Letter campaign to
ASEAN-Secretariat, EU Human Rights Unit and US Secretary Madeleine
Albright will be most appropriate.

With best regards, U Ne Oo.
**************************
1/ ASEAN's dialogue partners: Australia, NewZeland, japan, UNDP, United
States, European Union, Canada, Republic of Korea, India, China, Russia
and Pakistan.

ASEAN annual meetings: AMM(Asean Ministerial Meeting), ARF(Asean
Regional Forum) and PMC(Asean Post Ministerial Meeting).
********************************************************************
EU suggests fact finding mission to Mynamar
08:27 a.m. Jun 30, 1999 Eastern
BANGKOK, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Union has proposed sending a
mission to Myanmar before next month's ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting
to
look for ways to encourage dialogue between the ruling military and
opposition, a European diplomat said on Wednesday.

The diplomat, who did not want to be identified, said the EU had
informed
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of the
proposal, but there had been no response from Yangon.

He said the proposal was for a visit by a EU fact-finding ``troika,''
which
would comprise a representative of the EU's common foreign policy
position,
the EU presidency and of the European Commission.


Myanmar's human rights record, in particular its treatment of the
pro-democracy opposition led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
has
disrupted EU-ASEAN relations since Yangon joined the 10-member ASEAN in
1997.

The EU bars entry to senior officials from Myanmar and says it will
stick to
this position unless there is a ``significant'' improvement in Myanmar's

rights situation. The ban forced cancellation of an ASEAN-EU foreign
ministers' meeting earlier this year.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won Myanmar's last election in
1990
by a landslide, but the military ignored the result and has decimated
the
party through a long campaign of arrests and intimidation.

The military and opposition blame each other for a lack of dialogue.

In a report published on Wednesday, the London-based human rights group
Amnesty International said the rights situation in Myanmar had worsened
since it joined ASEAN.

It called on the regional bloc to put pressure on Yangon at the
ministerial
meeting to be held in Singapore in late July.

BURMA POURS COLD WATER ON FOREIGN MEDIATION
10.7.99/THE NATION
REUTERS

RANGOON - Burma's military government has received no outside
offers of mediation to resolve the deadlock with the
pro-democracy opposition, and will solve its problems on its own,
Foreign Minister Win Aung said.

A European Union delegation that visited the country this week
had made no such offer, nor had the former South African
president Nelson Mandela despite reports he could consider such a
role, Win Aung told Reuters late on Thursday.

"It would not be reasonable to do so (offer to mediate) because
it is our domestic affair," the minister said.

A South African diplomat said last month Mandela would consider
acting as a mediator between the military and the opposition, led
by his fellow Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The diplomat
said Mandela was willing to consider the role if formally asked
by the opposition. "No proposal from Mandela," Win Aung said.

"I think Mr Mandela can't understand our politics," he added. "We
don't mean that we have solved the problems. We are trying to
solve the problems by peaceful means by ourselves. Our problems
are very complex." Win Aung said a visit by a mid-ranking EU
delegation this week had been confined to fact-finding.

"Therefore, we told them what they wanted to know." EU diplomats
said the delegation went to Burma to look at reestablishing a
dialogue with the government in the interests of promoting human
rights and a rapprochement between the opposition and military.

The EU is also interested in repairing its relationship with the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which has been
damaged by the grouping's formal admission of Burma in 1997.

Burma's treatment of the opposition, including the arrest and
detention of hundreds of its members, has led the EU to bar Burma
officials from its borders, forcing cancellation of a high-level
meeting of the two blocs earlier this year.

The EU wants to see "substantial progress" on human rights before
lifting the ban.


Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won Burma's last general
election in 1990 by a landslide but the military ignored the
result.

Her party has said it is willing for dialogue with the military.

---

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