|
THE
European Union Parliament urged leaders of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to take
stronger action against Burma’s junta leaders as it
warned that it would not sign a free-trade agreement
with the 10-member bloc, which includes Burma, without
democratic reforms in that dictator-ruled country.
Germany’s
Hartmut Nassauer, head of the delegation of the nine EU
Parliament members, who concluded a visit to the
Philippines last week, said the international community
except Asean has already imposed strong sanctions on
Burma’s military junta, yet no reforms have taken place
and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains in
detention.
“Some of
our Asean partners have tried to convince us that
sanctions [against Burma renamed Myanmar by the
dictators] are not the right way. But we are convinced
that we need to react to what happens in Myanmar,” said
Nassauer in a press briefing over the weekend at the
Delegation of the European Commission office in Makati.
He
added, “So long as the democratic change in that
country, way to reform and change of law is not
established, we need to isolate the regime, and Asean as
a whole should do the same and take its own measures.”
It was
at the briefing that Nassauer stated the EU position on
the FTA with Asean; saying that reforms in
Burma
are prerequisite to the signing of the FTA. “We are
negotiating an FTA with Asean; I would like to make it
clear that the EU parliament won’t accept an FTA without
any progress in an Asean member like Burma.”
The EU
Parliament leader also noted the strong stand made by
President Arroyo for democratic change in Burma and the
immediate release of Suu Kyi, leader of the National
League for Democracy that won by landslide the last free
election in 1990, and would have been the prime minister
of Burma had the junta not seized power.
“We urge
urgently the military junta to release Suu Kyi and to
release all political prisoners in
Burma—that’s
the position of the EU Parliament and I’m convinced that
President Arroyo meant more or less the same with regard
to
Burma,”
said Nassauer.
Both
parties had agreed to conclude the comprehensive trade
deal within two years when they started formal
negotiations in May. The EU also negotiates individual
framework agreements with Asean members to ensure that
its democratic values on human rights, justice and rule
of law are integrated in the agreement. |
