EBO Burma News, 12 June 2003
News Summary:
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1. U.S. Senate approves ban on imports
from
2.
2. ASEAN rapped over failure to rein in
troublesome member
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U.S. Senate approves ban on
imports from Myanmar
By Doug Palmer
on Wednesday that would ban all imports from
detention of pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace
Prize laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican,
said the import ban would send
a strong signal to
has long criticized.
"The free world and free press have
been quick to condemn (
But strong words from foreign capitals
must be matched by stronger actions,"
McConnell said.
Suu Kyi and about two dozen senior members
of her National League for Democracy
have been held at undisclosed locations in the
taken into custody on May 30, sources told
Reuters in
The Bush administration has accused
"government-affliated thugs" of a
premeditated attack on Suu Kyi's motorcade and
McConnell said her captivity
heightened the need for a "swift and decisive
response" to the government's actions.
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told a
on Wednesday his government had been assured
Suu Kyi would soon be released.
"They said the custody is just for her own safety ... You don't have to believe it,
but this is what they said," he said.
The Senate bill would ban imports of
anything mined, made, grown or assembled
in
in the
and require the Treasury Department to oppose
World Bank or International
Monetary Fund loans.
The House of Representatives International
Relations Committee is scheduled
to vote on Thursday on similar bill.
At the insistence of Senate Finance
Committee leaders, a provision was added
to bill crafted by McConnell and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat,
for Congress to review each year whether to
continue the sanctions.
exports amounted to $10 million. More than 85
percent of
to the
and Footwear Association supports the
proposed import ban.
-------------------------------
Cambodia, Indonesia escape US
trafficking sanctions,
by Matthew Lee
censure for their efforts to combat the
trafficking of human beings and spared
the possible imposition of sanctions while
criticism, was rebuked anew by the State Department.
In its third annual "Trafficking in
Persons Report" released on Wednesday,
the department moved both
group of countries, inclusion in which can lead
to sanctions, into "Tier 2"
citing improvements in their records.
But
Tier 3 last year, remained so designated
and will face a cut off in
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related
"The government of
for the elimination of trafficking and is not
making significant efforts to do
so," the report said, using the former
name of the country.
The report accused
continued detention of opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and their failure to
adequately fight the narcotics trade, of complicity
in trafficking people for
forced labor.
"Government involvement in forced labor continues," it said, adding that
only mixed results.
"
government's improving, but still inadequate, record
of combating trafficking
for sexual exploitation," the report
said, explaining the failing grade.
-------------------------------
ASEAN rapped over failure to rein
in troublesome member Myanmar
by Sarah Stewart
opposition, will be one of the tough issues facing
its foreign ministers when
they meet in
The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations' policy of non-intervention in
members' affairs, held sacrosanct despite
criticism that it emasculates the
grouping, is likely to come up for review.
United Nations envoy Razali
Ismail, who on Tuesday ended a five-day mission
to
incommunicado since May 30, boldly criticised the bloc
for its inaction.
"This is something that I have
noticed for some time, the inability of the
region to be able to deal with issues that are
important to the region, and
this is one of them," the former
Malaysian diplomat said in a BBC radio
interview.
"It really undermines the credibility
of ASEAN by insisting upon
non-interference and in the process of doing that
perpetuating the status quo
when clearly the people of
Razali, close to regional strongman Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad, made it clear the task of ending four
decades of military rule in
spectrum from youthful democracies to communist
regimes.
"I've also realised now that this job
is not something I can do alone. I
have to get the support of the international
community and I must particularly
have the support of the countries of the
region."
While some ASEAN members are happy to
pursue the softly-softly approach
that has so far failed to yield any reforms in
they have lost patience with the generals and
their antics.
repeatedly called for the junta to release Aung San
Suu Kyi, while the
Philippine government summoned
events.
However, these relatively modest responses
are unlikely to impress US
Secretary of State Colin Powell who will
be attending the
after his office described Aung San Suu Kyi's
detention as "outrageous,"
"shameful"
and "unacceptable."
President George W. Bush made a rare
personal statement of protest over the
junta's move, which came after violent clashes in
northern
embassy officials said the opposition leader's
convoy was attacked by a
pro-junta mob.
Apart from repeatedly and stridently
calling for the release of Aung San
Suu Kyi and other leaders of her National
League for Democracy (NLD), the
sanctions on
But because of its policy of
non-interference, ASEAN is unlikely even to
issue a statement on the recent developments in
the
However, the ASEAN Regional Forum, a
leading security grouping which
includes ASEAN's security dialogue partners like
the
"
statement will be a reflection of the actual
discussions," an ASEAN source in
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