AFP-EU says it will not allow Myanm

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Subject: AFP-EU says it will not allow Myanmar in ASEAN roadshows

EU says it will not allow Myanmar in ASEAN roadshows
SINGAPORE, July 27 (AFP) - The European Union (EU) said Tuesday it will not
allow Myanmar representatives on proposed Southeast Asian roadshows, aimed
at luring investments, pending progress on human rights by Yangon.
The EU made its stand known even as officials said the EU had agreed with
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work towards resuming
an annual ministerial meeting suspended due to differences over Myanmar.

Manuel Marin, acting president of the European Commission, said the EU's
economic agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nationscovering
such issues as investments, trade services and customs standards omitted
military-ruled Myanmar.

Asked at a news conference whether the EU would allow Myanmar into the
continent as part of the joint investment roadshows, Marin said: "For the
time being, the answer is negative."

All other members of ASEAN were welcome but Myanmar "is a problem," he told
a news conference on the sidelines of annual meeting of members of ASEAN and
its dialogue partners.

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

The EU and the United States were strongly opposed to Myanmar joining ASEAN
in July 1997, citing gross human rights abuses and its refusal to recognise
the result of a 1990 election won by the opposition National League for
Democracy.

Myamar officials face a visa ban in Europe under EU restrictions imposed to
punish alleged human rights violations.

The sanctions were first applied in 1996 and effectively blocked ASEAN from
attending talks in Europe, which has shown no inclination to soften its
stance against the junta in Myanmar.

"We consider human rights and democratic institutions as rather important,"
Tarja Halonen, president of the EU General Council, said here Tuesday.

Not just individual nations but even the European Parliament kept a close
watch on such issues, and "we cannot avoid it," she said.

"We have certain visa regimes which may make it difficult for Burmese
officials to enter the European Union," Halonen added.


In July, a four-man team representing Finland, Portugal, the EU secretariat
and the European Commission traveled to Yangon to hold sensitive talks with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and junta First Secretary Khin Nyunt.

Halonen said the visit had been undertaken for the delegation to see "with
their own eyes what the situation is (in Myanmar) and state strongly our
demands."

At her meeting here with Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, she said she had
"repeated" the demands, including opening the country to UN experts, the
media and well-known non-governmental organisations.

The EU also demands that Yangon negotiate with the opposition, respect human
rights and initiate moves towards national reconciliation.

Halonen said she had informed Win Aung of the EU's forthcoming announcement
on its policy toward Myanmar, which will be made in September in Brussels.

The EU had last made its position known on Myanmar in April, when it
reiterated its call for Myanmar "to take concrete steps" towards democracy,
respect for human rights and national reconciliation.

A Singapore foreign ministry spokeswoman said meanwhile that the EU and
ASEAN had agreed to resume their suspended ministerial dialogue as soon as
possible, but gave no details.