Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-05-Speech-4-202"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20090205.21.4-202"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, Burma is known as a violent military dictatorship in which a caste of profiteers has been able to hang onto power for many years. Oppression and poverty have caused many people to flee the country, or to try to do so.
The country’s ethnic diversity both justifies and reinforces this dictatorship. In large areas, minority peoples are in the majority. They pursue autonomy and organise protests against the central dictatorship. The military leaders consider their dictatorship necessary to be able to keep the country together permanently and to subjugate the rebellious people. They are more interested in the territory than in the people who live in it. By issuing major exploitation concessions to foreign businesses, vital sources of income are taken from the indigenous people, with nature and the environment being seriously damaged in the process.
The need to flee the country is further reinforced by the fact that no consideration is given to the regional majority peoples. The regime is keen to eliminate troublesome groups, either by killing them or by chasing them out of the country. Many flee into the sea in makeshift dinghies, running the considerable risk of drowning. Burma’s neighbour, Thailand, has seen many refugees cross the border: according to some estimates, as many as two million people have fled over the past 25 years, and tens of thousands who have been refused entry remain homeless in the no man’s land along the border.
Unfortunately, feelings of sympathy or solidarity with refugees are even less well developed in South East Asia than they are in Europe. Very often, refugees are sent home, even if this means certain death. Public opinion shows little interest, even if it involves people who share their religion, such as the Muslim boat refugees who ended up in Indonesia from Burma.
Governments also give priority to good relations with their colleagues in dictatorial states, instead of bringing pressure to bear in order to improve the situation there. Some in Europe even tend towards adopting a similar attitude, and we can see the disastrous impact this has in Asia. This is another reason why we should urge the Asian countries to find a solution."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples