Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-26-Speech-3-247"
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"en.20070926.19.3-247"2
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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this debate and our discussions are highly topical and, of course, the Council and the Portuguese Presidency are monitoring events in Burma (Myanmar) with extreme concern.
The EU Foreign Affairs Ministers discussed the developing situation in Burma during the Gymnich meeting held at the beginning of September, and yesterday in New York, when all 27 met, they again tackled this issue, as I have mentioned. In addition, this issue has been discussed by the Political and Security Committee in Brussels and was debated in more detail this morning within the Asia-Oceania Working Group. We are obviously assessing all possible options for another European Union reaction and, although we hope that the situation will not deteriorate even further, we must be prepared for all eventualities. We are also preparing for additional action through diplomatic channels and will remain in contact with the United Nations, in particular with Ibrahim Gambari, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, who met with the presidency and institutions of the European Union in July, in other words immediately before the summer recess. We also remain in close contact with our colleagues in Geneva where an incisive statement was made yesterday in the Human Rights Council.
Last night, due to the worrying news reaching us from Rangoon, we felt obliged to make another appeal to the Burmese authorities, asking them not to react violently to the people’s peaceful demonstrations. We clearly mentioned the possibility of increasing the existing sanctions so that the message was precise and direct. Finally, Coreper (Permanent Representatives Committee) will discuss this issue of Burma in more detail tomorrow.
It has been almost 20 years, in fact since the events of 1988, since Burma has witnessed the kind of demonstrations that are occurring at the moment. There is no doubt that what many commentators are saying about these latest events is true: namely that the country is at a crossroads which we regard as critical.
From the start the situation has proved to be highly volatile and, although we have made every effort to prevent the Burmese authorities from resorting to violence, today’s events demonstrate that, very unfortunately, the military junta in Rangoon is still deaf to the appeals of the international community, as it has been for many years to the constant and repeated international appeals.
If well managed, the situation in recent days could have presented an unprecedented opportunity for the first steps to be taken along the road to urgent political reform and national re-evaluation of the country. We hoped that the junta would listen to the unequivocal message being sent by the demonstrators that its policies have failed.
What was in the beginning an
protest against the disproportionate rise in the price of fuel has become a vast public protest movement against the general policies of a highly dictatorial government.
Aware of the growing tension in the country, the European Union has not just stood back and watched the situation. Immediately in August it vehemently condemned the detention of various opposition leaders, in particular the so-called ‘88 Generation’ group, which was protesting against the almost 500% rise in fuel prices. It called for the release of all political prisoners and highlighted the need to start a process of opening up, reconciliation and political reform. Just yesterday we sent a clear message of solidarity and support to the Burmese population through the Joint US-EU Statement adopted by the 27 Foreign Affairs Ministers who are meeting in New York.
We call on the authorities to respect the right of the monks, nuns and ordinary citizens to demonstrate peacefully and we stress that this situation represents a new opportunity to try and solve Burma’s highly complex problems.
In another statement, also issued yesterday, the High Representative, Mr Solana, called on the Burmese authorities to continue exercising restraint and stressed that genuine peace, stability and development can only be achieved through political reform, the granting of fundamental rights and freedoms, and full inclusion of all stakeholders.
We have also discussed the situation with some of our partners in bilateral conversations on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. In our continuing dialogue on Burma with partners in the region, including China, India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, we are encouraging the latter to talk regularly to the regime, placing particular emphasis on the following points: first, the long-term stability of Burma requires a genuine transformation, especially political; second, the opening-up of the country is crucial to the development of Burma and is also in the interests of its neighbours and the international community as a whole. We have also noted that Singapore, the current Chair of the ASEAN, has at least responded with a national statement in which it hopes that the current protests can be resolved peacefully."@en1
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