Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-26-Speech-3-249"
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"en.20070926.19.3-249"2
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"Madam President, the European Union prides itself on its attention to human rights and yet it seems incapable of acting effectively against tyrannical regimes across the globe that continue to oppress and abuse their people year after year. There is a mindset that seems to think that a statement and a common position are all that is needed. The President-in-Office said in the previous debate that we should live up to what we say. I agree with him.
Throughout my time in this Parliament I have fought against two particular odious regimes: Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the military junta in Burma. Both have been the object of EU attention, but nothing has happened. We should be ashamed.
Today our attention is focused on Burma where, for the past week, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks has courageously led massive street protests in Rangoon and many other parts of Burma. We are all shocked to see that a desperate situation has now turned to tragedy. Pictures have been flashed around the world of injured monks, smoke-filled pagodas and battered civilians as the security forces begin their crackdown. There are reports of at least five deaths, and hundreds more have been injured. We were warned almost a week ago by the radio station Burma Democratic Voice that the Government had authorised the use of firearms, and prepared for a violent conclusion to the peaceful demonstrations.
It is high time that we stopped wringing our hands and got serious. I am under no illusions. As with Zimbabwe, the key to change in Burma lies with her neighbours, China in particular. China is Burma’s biggest investor, trading partner and arms supplier. There is a high-level Chinese parliamentary delegation in Parliament today, led by Mr Wang Yingfan, an influential member of the National People’s Congress. I made a strong plea to him this morning for China to take action against the Burmese regime. He reiterated China’s commitment to non-interference in the internal policies of other countries, but, at the same time, he assured me that China would continue to play a quiet but serious role and urge flexibility and a more positive approach on the Burmese regime. We shall see what effect this has.
Yesterday, the Presidency of the European Union announced that tougher sanctions would be imposed in the event of a violent reaction. That violence has come and those tougher sanctions must now follow if the EU is to retain any credibility on the world stage. We must also make it clear that this time we will keep our word and stick to our sanctions. There must be no repeat of the disgraceful episode in May when the Burmese Foreign Minister was allowed to attend an ASEM summit meeting in Germany in flagrant violation of the EU’s own travel ban.
We cannot ignore the fact, when considering sanctions, that TOTAL Oil is one of Burma’s few remaining foreign investors. TOTAL is directly helping to prop up the military junta, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars every year for the regime to maintain one of the largest armies in the world.
The Burma crisis is one that we have discussed for so long, and it is now upon us. We should remember that the men who were instrumental in the massacre of protestors in Burma 20 years ago now hold key positions in the regime. It is a pity that the Council and the Commission did not listen more closely to Parliament on these matters over the years.
Today, once more, we are tabling a strong resolution; it is short and very clear. We say to the Burmese authorities: release Aung San Suu Kyi immediately, leave the protestors alone and convene a fully representative National Convention to include the National League for Democracy. We say to the UN Security Council: meet now to address the situation in Burma and then immediately despatch your special envoy to that country. We say to the Council and the Commission: talk to the US and to ASEAN to prepare a coordinated series of measures against the Burmese regime, including economic sanctions, if it responds violently and does not respond in the way that we are saying."@en1
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