EBO BURMA NEWS, 12 JULY 2003
News
Summary:
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1.
2. Senator Mitch McConnell Meets With U.N. Special Envoy Razali On
3. Democracy and reconciliation "beyond reach":
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detention
of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Immigration officials will deny visas for
past
and present military juntas, senior government officials and members of
the
military suspected of involvement in human rights violations," the Foreign
Affairs Ministry said.
representing the southeast Asian nation. It is also calling on Canadian
business
leaders to avoid trade with
In January,
world's
least developed countries from which it does not tax exports.
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party's 1990 election victory was never recognised
by
the military junta, was arrested and placed in "protective custody" a
month
ago.
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Press Release of Senator McConnell
Senator Mitch McConnell Meets With U.N. Special Envoy Razali On
U.N. Special Envoy Razali to discuss the latest situation in
McConnell is the author of the Senate legislation imposing a
import
ban on goods manufactured in
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and companies owned by SPDC.
The bill passed on
Senator McConnell released the following statement following the meeting
with
Razali:
“Last week, I sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to urge
a meeting
between
the Security Council and U.N. Special Envoy Razali Ismail so that
Mr. Razali could report to the Council on the critical situation in
“Mr. Razali’s current mandate to promote reconciliation between the
repressive
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the National League for
Democracy (NLD) and ethnic nationalities is no longer relevant in light
of the
brutal
attack against freedom in
“Dialogue is as dead as those the SPDC murdered on Black Friday. This
fact
cannot
be ignored or denied by the United Nations or the international community.
“The President has invited U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the
White House
early
next week, and I have asked the President to discuss the situation in
with
Secretary-General Annan, should such a meeting occur.
“I also recommended to the President that the Administration immediately
issue
an
executive order that freezes SPDC assets in the
remittances
to
In late June, the State Department indicated that this would occur, but
we have
yet
to see any action.
“Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee put the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act of 2003 – that imposes an import ban, visa restrictions,
and
other
actions against the thugs in
the
White House. I expect it will be considered by the full House early next week.
“Let me clear that SPDC General Than Shwe will
be held personally responsible
for
the security and safety of Suu Kyi and other democrats being held against
their
will.
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Democracy and reconciliation "beyond reach":
beyond
reach" despite UN efforts, the country's official press warned Friday
as
it fired its latest salvo against detained opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.
The article in the New Light of Myanmar, published in the midst of a
series
criticising
Aung San Suu Kyi for her role in events leading up to her May 30
detention,
claims the junta pushed for democratic change in recent years.
"The question now arises as to why national reconciliation and
harmony
between
the present government and (opposition) National League for Democracy
(NLD) has not yet been realised," article author Kyaw Myint Naing
wrote.
"This is in fact due to the misconception that only when an
authoritarian
system
has been eliminated can democracy prevail," he wrote, before launching
into
a stinging broadside against democracy activists.
"They accuse the government of violating human rights and
suppressing
democracy
and make the government appear to be a dictatorship. And then they
try
to convince others that they are fighting for democracy.
"Consequently, no matter the numbers of UN envoys who come to
discuss and
mediate
ways and means for a peaceful transition and national reconciliation
and
harmony, these goals still remain far away beyond reach."
United Nations envoy Razali Ismail brokered landmark secret talks
between
the
junta and Aung San Suu Kyi in October 2000 aimed at shifting the country
to
democracy. They have now collapsed.
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