BurmaNet News September 4-7, 2004

[Editor]

September 4-7, 2004, Issue # 2553

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar calls on US critics to abandon sanctions

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: Myanmar seals border with Bangladesh after blasts

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar draws up reproductive health plan

BUSINESS / MONEY
Myanmar Times: Tourism team London bound
Business Daily: Thailand, Myanmar to strengthen ties
Business Daily Update: Chinese, Myanmar firms sign petroleum exploration
contract
AP: Myanmar foreign investment soared 94 percent in 2003, official
statistics say

REGIONAL
Bangkok Post: Burmese workers to get B1.17m back pay
Mizzima: Assam CM requests more pressure on Burma
Reuters: Prominent Indonesia rights activist dies on flight

INTERNATIONAL
FT: EU agrees to attend summit with Burma's military junta—compromise deal
European Union Press: EU will start economic sanctions against Burma
Ceska Tiskova Kancelar: EU plans to toughen stand if nothing changed in
Myanmar
Times Union: Burmese refugees march for freedom

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: EU puts trade before human rights

ANNOUNCEMENT
USCB: Make a vote for freedom online!

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 6, Agence France Presse
Myanmar calls on US critics to abandon sanctions

Myanmar on Monday demanded an end to US economic sanctions, saying its
critics were fighting a "losing battle" to force changes to the military
regime.

No country had ever changed for the better because of sanctions, according
to the officially-sanctioned article in the New Light of Myanmar newsaper
headed: "It is high time the US put an end to their foolish behaviour".

US President George W. Bush in July extended a range of sanctions on
Myanmar for 12 months because of the continued detention of pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the slow pace of democratic reform.

The article published Monday criticised the "meaninglessly lopsided
interference in today's internal issues of Myanmar" by the US over 15
years and said it had achieved nothing.
"In fact, what they are doing is just like fighting a losing battle."

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) scored a landslide win
in 1990 elections but was never allowed to rule by the junta that has run
the country since 1962.

Myanmar has embarked on what it says is a seven-step programme towards
democracy. It has been dismissed as a sham by the international community.

"If the military desired us to become an ally and cooperate with it, it
should start a politically meaningful dialogue as soon as possible," NLD
spokesman U Lwin told AFP.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 4, Reuters
Myanmar seals border with Bangladesh after blasts

Myanmar has sealed its border with Bangladesh, suspending authorised
movement of people and cargo between the two countries, officials said on
Saturday.
They said the 320-km border had been closed since August 23, two days
after a grenade attack at an opposition rally in Dhaka killed 19 people
and wounded 150.

"Apparently it (Myanmar) is trying to stop criminals from moving into its
territory from Bangladesh," said an officer of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
border guard.

He said Yangon had given no notice of the closure but the Myanmar border
force had confirmed after a BDR query that they were acting on directives
from higher authorities.

"They did it unilaterally, halting operations at the Teknaf transit
point," said the BDR officer at Teknaf, 500 km southeast of Dhaka and the
sole crossing on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

"Lawful movement of people and cargo has remained stopped since August
23," he added.

The grenades exploded in Dhaka at a rally of the opposition Awami League
just after party chief Sheikh Hasina, a former prime minister, ended a
speech to thousands of followers.

It was the bloodiest in a series of unexplained blasts across the country
since 2000 -- at opposition rallies, concerts, mosques and cinema halls --
in which at least 150 people have been killed and hundreds wounded.

No one has been charged with any of the attacks.

Hasina said the grenade incident had been intended to kill her and blamed
militants close to Islamic partners in Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's
coalition.

Khaleda and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rejected the allegation
but, analysts said, the government finally appeared to be taking the
violence seriously.

Khaleda ordered a judicial probe into the August 21 attack and called in
experts from Interpol and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
to assist local investigators.

The analysts said that, although Khaleda's government faced no immediate
threat of losing power, it probably could not afford to ignore any more
fatal attacks.

The government said it would "not rule out foreign hands" in the August 21
attack, and awaited more insight from U.S. counter-terrorism expert Cofer
Black, who is due in Dhaka on Sunday.

Black was expected to meet government ministers, local detectives and
Hasina, and also brief the media, officials said.

_____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

September 6, Xinhua News  Agency
Myanmar draws up reproductive health plan

Myanmar has drawn up a five-year strategic reproductive health plan, aimed
at reducing maternal mortality and improving the basic reproductive health
care, a local newspaper reported Monday.

The plan, funded by the United Nations Population Fund and the World
Health Organization (WHO), will be implemented on approval by the Myanmar
Health Ministry, the WHO country office was quoted by the Myanmar Times as
saying.

Maternal mortality and abortion still remain a large issue in Myanmar with
most maternal deaths arising out of complications during child birth, the
sources said.

The plan, which includes training programs specially for midwives, would
involve non-governmental organizations such as the Myanmar Red Cross
Society and the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, the
sources added.

The WHO has stressed the importance of improving the reproductive health
to help alleviate poverty and to realize the United Nations' millennium
development goals set in 2000 which call for achieving a range of health
care, education and poverty reduction targets by 2015.

Meanwhile, the UN Population Fund has also emphasized the urgent need to
address adolescent reproductive health in Myanmar where young people aged
between 12 and 24 make up about 30 percent of the country's
over-52-million population. The project will also improve access to
reproductive health information, education and services for young people,
according to the UN agency.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / MONEY

September 6 - 12 , Myanmar Times
Tourism team London bound - Su Myat Hla and Myo Theingi Cho

A delegation representing the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board will travel
to London in November to attend one of the world’s largest tourist
industry events, the World Travel Mart.

The four-day event, which opens on November 8, is expected to attract more
than 23,000 visitors.

The six-member delegation will include representatives from the Myanmar
Marketing Committee of the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board and air carrier
Myanmar Airways International.

U Win Tin, managing director of Journeys Nature and Culture Explorations,
who is attending the event, said the delegation planned to create greater
awareness among travel agents about Myanmar and its tourist attractions.

“Travel shows enable us to meet foreign tour operators and potential
clients and exchange ideas and industry related matters,” U Win Tin said.

He said that while participation in travel shows did not necessarily bring
immediate results, in terms of increased tourist arrivals, it was useful
in developing contacts with travel agents which could bring long-term
benefits.

U Win Tin cited as an example a German travel company he had met at a
travel industry show four years ago.

“He said he will start selling my package tours this year,” he said.

In another development, a senior official with the Ministry of Hotels and
Tourism has urged private sector travel industry companies to participate
in the ASEAN Tourism Forum to be held on Langkawi Island, Malaysia, next
January.

The ministry would cooperate with the private sector to assist it to
participate in the event, said U Htay Aung, the director general of the
Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

He also said the forum, which is held annually, played an important role
in promoting tourism in ASEAN countries and the ministry hoped that many
travel agents, hoteliers and airline company representatives from Myanmar
would take part. U Htay Aung was speaking at a Malaysian Tourism Promotion
Board function held at Traders hotel on August 20 to promote the forum.

He said Myanmar was due to host the forum in 2006 and its planning for the
event would benefit from participation in the ATF at Langkawi.

The function was also addressed by Mr Agus Salim, the president of the
ASEAN Travel Association, ASEANTA.

Mr Agus said the forum would make an important contribution to helping
ASEAN achieve its objectives of promoting travel throughout regional
grouping.

_____________________________________

September 6, Business Daily
Thailand, Myanmar to strengthen ties

Industry Minister Pinij Jarusombat said Myanmar’s Minister of Industry
paid a visit to his office over the weekend to tighten economic ties
between the two neighboring countries, particularly in the aspects of
trade and investment promotion.

He added that the cooperation development is in line with Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra’s initiative – the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

Pinij said Thaksin wanted the Asean region to have stronger economic
status and his ministry is ready to cooperate and provide full support to
Myanmar.
He and his Myanmar counterpart discussed issues on bilateral cooperation
on trade and investment, including the issue of industrial production
sector of Thailand, he added.

According to Pinij, Myanmar industry minister had also visited electronics
parts and electricity appliances manufacturers in Maptaput industrial
estate in Rayong.

He said the Myanmar government is ready to support Thai investors,
particularly in long-term investment projects.

The Myanmar government divides its industry ministry into two ministries.
The industry ministry 1 has the responsibility to oversee heavy
industries, while the industry ministry 2 oversees light industries.

The minister of industry for Ministry 1 had previously visited Thailand to
discuss on heavy industries investment promotion in Myanmar in May this
year.

_____________________________________

September 6, Business Daily Update
Chinese, Myanmar firms sign petroleum exploration contract

A Chinese oil company and a State-run Myanmar oil company reached a
production-sharing contract Friday on cooperation in petroleum
exploration.

Under the contract, signed between the Dian-Qian-Gui Petroleum Exploration
Bureau of SINOPEC of China and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise,
petroleum exploration will be carried out at Block D, an onshore block in
Myanmar's western Rakhine state.
The onshore block covers about 12,000 square-kilometers.

With 19 onshore and three main large offshore oil and gas fields, Myanmar
possesses 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve in the
offshore and onshore areas, according to official statistics.

The statistics also show that Myanmar produced 7.2 million barrels of
crude oil in 2003. Gas export during the year earned US$655 million, while
crude oil import worth US$27.85 million the same year.

Since Myanmar opened to foreign investment in late 1988, such investment
in the sector had reached US$2.5 billion as of the end of 2003, the
figures also reveal. Foreign oil companies engaged in the oil and gas
sector also mainly include those from Britain, Malaysia, Australia,
Indonesia and Canada.

_____________________________________

September 6, Associated Press
Myanmar foreign investment soared 94 percent in 2003, official statistics say

Foreign investment in Myanmar jumped 94 percent in 2003 despite harsh
economic sanctions on its military regime imposed by the United States,
according to official statistics.

The increase reflects foreign investment of US$95.3 million (euro 79
million) in 2003, up from US$49.2 million (euro 41 million) the previous
year, according to a report published recently by the Ministry of National
Planning and Development.

Eight countries invested in the country, also known as Burma, in 2003, the
report said.

The largest investments came from Britain, which pumped US$27 million
(euro 22 million) into Myanmar's transportation sector, and Thailand,
which invested US$22 million (euro 18.2 million) in the country's oil and
gas sector.

Other investors included Malaysia, which put US$18.2 million (euro 15
million) in the fisheries sector, and Hong Kong, which invested US$15.8
million (euro 13.1 million) in fisheries and transportation. Singapore
invested US$6.1 million (euro 5.1 million) in fisheries.

South Korea and Brunei also took stakes in Myanmar fisheries, while Canada
invested in the mining industry.

The report did not give further details about the investments.

Since Myanmar introduced a more open market system in late 1988, the
country has drawn more than US$7 billion (euro 5.8 billion) in foreign
investment, more than half of which has come from members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand.

The United States imposed economic sanctions against Myanmar in July last
year because of the ruling junta's poor human rights record and its
failure to release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
other political prisoners.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 6, Bangkok Post
Burmese workers to get B1.17m back pay

Eighteen of 34 Burmese workers demanding 4.6 million baht in back pay from
a knitting factory in Mae Sot district have accepted back wages totalling
1.17 million baht from the firm. Pranom Somwong, staff of MAP Foundation
for the Health and Knowledge of Ethnic Labour, which the workers asked to
help secure payment from the firm via the Nakhon Sawan Labour Court
yesterday, said the workers agreed to accept the sum from Nut Knitting
Partnership at a meeting on Aug 24.

They felt they could no longer travel across the Thai-Burmese border nor
afford the cost of court fees, after being arrested for illegal entry and
pushed back to Burma recently.
The back pay is for the period of Oct-Dec 2000 and Jan 2001-Oct 2002.

Earlier, the company refused to pay the workers as ordered by the Labour
Protection and Welfare Department in February 2003, which prompted the
Burmese to file a lawsuit in court.

_____________________________________

September 7, Mizzima
Assam CM Requests More Pressure on Burma

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi requested that India’s home minister,
Sivraj Patil, apply diplomatic pressure on the Burmese government in a bid
to drive Burmese militants out of the country.

Mr Patil arrived in Shillong, the capital of Meghalya in north-east India,
on Sunday September 5 for a three-day visit to determine the social
stability of the region.

Mr Gogoi and Mr Patil held a 30 minute private meeting in Shillong on
Sunday to discuss the increased activity of the United Liberation Front of
Asom. The ULFA is made up of Burmese and Bangladeshis and has been
labelled a terrorist organisation.

An official Assam press release said during the discussion, Mr Gogoi asked
the Mr Patil to intensify patrols along the Indo-Burma and Indo-Bangladesh
border in a bid to contain the activities of the militant group.

Mr Patil reportedly agreed to approach the subject with both Burma and
Bangladesh.

Mr Gogoi had repeatedly asked Mr Patil to seal the Indo-Burma border
following movements by the ULFA.

The official press release stated the Indian Home Ministry had agreed to
send more troops to the border areas as a means of containing the group.
Mr Patil visited Manipur, a notorious trouble spot on the Burmese border
on Monday, where he held discussions with Manipur chief minister Ibobi
Singh, and met with senior military and security officials.

A high-ranking official from Manipur government  said Mr Patil also met
with senior military and Assam Rifles officials stationed on the border
and asked them to intensify their patrols.

_____________________________________

September 7, Reuters
Prominent Indonesia rights activist dies on flight

Leading Indonesian human rights activist Munir, a staunch critic of his
country's military and former autocratic president Suharto, died aboard a
flight to Amsterdam on Tuesday at age 38, colleagues and local media said.
The prominent lawyer died just hours before the commercial flight touched
down at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

"He left for Amsterdam last night and we were informed by (the airline)
today that he had passed away ... We checked with our friends in Amsterdam
and it's confirmed," Rusdi Marpaung, a colleague at human rights group
Imparsial, told Reuters.

The cause of death was not immediately known, but an autopsy would be
done, national news agency Antara reported.

The leading candidate in Indonesia's upcoming presidential election,
ex-army general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, paid tribute to Munir with a
moment of silence during a speech on Monday.

"He was a great human rights fighter and made many ears red," Yudhoyono
told reporters afterwards. Munir shot to prominence during the final years
before the 1998 fall of president Suharto, who ruled with an iron fist for
32 years.

Munir's now defunct Kontras group was one of the leading forces
investigating charges of injustice by Suharto's regime.

He later spearheaded efforts to bring to justice those responsible for a
spree of kidnappings and tortures of anti-Suharto activists in 1998.

Lawyers for Suharto, who is now 83 and lives in an elite area of the
capital, Jakarta, have so far managed to keep their client out of court,
saying he is too ill to face trial.

Munir died on the same day parliament approved the establishment of a
truth and reconciliation panel to investigate killings and abductions
during the Suharto era.

Munir was also critical of the military in separatist hotspots such as
Aceh and Papua and had spoken openly of his experiences being terrorised
by unknown assailants who threw grenades at his Jakarta office.

Rusdi, who last saw Munir on Friday, said he appeared physically healthy
and insisted he had no history of serious illness.

Munir was on his way to the Netherlands to undertake a master's degree
under a scholarship sponsored by the Dutch government. (Additional
reporting by Achmad Sukarsono).

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 6, Financial Times
EU agrees to attend summit with Burma's military junta—compromise deal

The European Union has agreed to attend a controversial Asia-Europe summit
with Burma's military junta next month - as long as the regime sends only
lower-level officials, rather than Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, to the
table.

But EU foreign ministers have also proposed stronger sanctions against
Rangoon, including bans on visas for more senior military officials and
their families; stopping EU companies from financing Burmese state- owned
enterprises; and continued blocks on lending to Burma by international
institutions.

"This keeps the Asia-Europe meeting process on track and alive," said a
spokeswoman for Chris Patten, EU external relations commissioner. "We've
found a way not to prevent the process from being taken hostage by this
one particular problem with Burma."

Asian governments' desire to include Burma's military regime in a widening
Asia-Europe dialogue was a dilemma for the EU, which is deeply frustrated
by the junta's refusal to free Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel prize-winning
democracy leader, from house arrest.

Burma's attempt to draft a new constitution, described by the junta as a
first step towards political reform, has been widely derided as a sham,
given the military's total control over the process, the restrictions on
discussions, and the lack of participation by Ms Suu Kyi's opposition
National League for Democracy.

Still, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had insisted
they would not acknowledge the EU's expansion to 25 member states this
year if the EU failed to allow Asean's own new members - Burma, Cambodia,
and Laos - to participate in the inter- regional dialogue.

This posed a particular problem for the EU as many officials would like it
to play a greater role on the world stage and believe that engagement with
Asian nations is vital for the organisation's multilateralist agenda.

Sihasak Phuanketgeow, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman, said a compromise
deal called for the EU to admit Burma into the discussions along with
other new members of the EU and Asean, but that each country would decide
its own participants.

Behind the scenes, however, there is an understanding that Burma will send
a lower-level official to represent it, a deal reached after strenuous
diplomatic efforts.

Meeting in the Netherlands, EU foreign ministers expressed "grave concern"
over Burma, and said the Hanoi summit would provide "an opportunity to
confront Burma with our concerns on human rights and the need for
democratic reforms". Hans Van den Broek, special envoy and former EU
commissioner, also told EU ministers "that many of the Asian partners
share the concerns that the EU has on Burma".

However, John Jackson, a member of the Burma Campaign UK, criticised the
EU's decision, saying that "sitting down with the generals for a cosy
chat" was unlikely to promote reform.

_____________________________________

September 4, European Union Press
EU will start economic sanctions against Burma

“The EU attaches great importance to its relations with Asia and the ASEM
process, but it is also committed to democratic change in Burma as well as
to ongoing humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma”, said minister
Bernard Bot today after a discussion of EU ministers about the issue of
ASEM enlargement, in the presence of the Presidency’s special envoy Van
den Broek.

Following is the outcome of the discussions as presented by Minister Bot
during a press conference.

During his mission to Asia Van den Broek conveyed the above message. He
learned that many of the Asian partners share the concerns that EU has on
Burma, but -like the EU- attach importance to the ASEM summit and a
discussion on its enlargement.

The situation in Burma has not improved significantly and continues to
give rise to grave concern. In particular the progress hoped for at the
time of the Tullamore Gymnich has not happened: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
remains under house arrest, the National League for Democracy has faced
continued harassment and the National Convention has not allowed genuine
open debate.
If the Burmese Government has not fulfilled the three conditions of the
Tullamore Gymnich by 8 October, when the ASEM Summit starts, the European
Union will act as follows:

1. the European Union will maintain the measures under its Common Position
against the military regime in Burma and those who benefit from it; 2) The
European Union will tighten the existing measures against the regime and
increase the support to the Burmese people, and requests the Commission to
prepare a revised Common Position, which in addition to the existing
measures includes:

An expansion of the visa ban list to include serving members of the
military of the rank of Brigadier-General and above and members of their
families, and implementing it by having visa applicants to sign a separate
statement that they do not belong to the above-mentioned group.

_____________________________________

September 7, Ceska Tiskova Kancelar
EU plans to toughen stand if nothing changed in Myanmar

The EU is disappointed at the absence of any visible progress in democracy
and human rights observance in Myanmar and it is preparing certain
measures, Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said after a meeting with
Sein Win, head of the exile Burmese government today.

The EU would take concrete steps if no progress towards democracy were
seen in Myanmar, a country with a military dictatorship regime, by
October, Svoboda said.

October is the date of the EU and Asian countries' Eurasian partnership
(ASEM) summit, organised in Hanoi.

Myanmar wants to join this organisation. The measures "concern an
extension of the list of those who will be denied visas, the freezing of
some loans," Svoboda said, referring to some of the possible sanctions.

The EU may also vote against certain kinds of loans in international
financial institutions. Further measures will be announced at an official
meeting of the EU's council for general affairs and external relations,
which has to approve them. Up to now, the EU foreign ministers have agreed
on them only informally at their recent meeting in Maastricht.

Sein Win stressed the necessity of concrete sanctions, including economic,
against the Myanmar military junta, such as imposing embargo on its wood
export.

Svoboda said the Czech Foreign Ministry has been monitoring the situation
in the long run and is deeply disappointed. He said the Czech Republic
would be strict in this respect. It is a duty of democratic countries to
support the efforts at a change of the system in Myanmar and to conduct a
dialogue with the opposition, Svoboda said.

____________________________________

September 6, Times Union
Burmese refugees march for freedom

In the name of ending oppression and bringing democracy to Burma, marchers
are walking from the Grafton Peace Pagoda to New York City.

By Sunday, a dozen marchers reached Coeymans Creek where it flows beneath
Route 9W. Three Burmese refugees were joined for the day by supporters,
including children, an 11-month-old baby and a pregnant woman.

The marchers—Han Lin, Win Shwe and Maung Maung Tate—wore red headbands
bearing the words “Free Burma,” and at the head of the column Tate waved a
United Nations flag. The activists are petitioning the United Nations to
bring down the military regime in Burma that has suppressed democracy
there.

Burma, a Southeast Asian country officially known as Myanmar, has been
governed by a military regime since 1962. In 1990, the National League for
Democracy won a popular vote, but prime minister-elect Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi was not allowed to take office. Although she won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1991, she has been under house arrest intermittently since then, and
political refugees outside Burma have sought attention for their cause.

“Burma is suffering under the regime,” said Lin, 53. “There is no
democracy, no justice, no human rights.”

Lin, of Ithaca, along with Tate, 50, and Shwe, 44, both of Fort Wayne,
Ind., were joined by four men for the rest of the walk. The group also
will stage an indefinite hunger strike outside the United Nations
building. Sunday, they paused for dinner delivered by supporters by the
creek. A National League for Democracy flag was propped in a minivan.

Yan Aung, 32, the marchers’ liaison to the media and Burmese immigrants
around the world, explained why a fighting peacock represents the
democracy movement.

“A peacock fights until it wins, or until it dies,” Aung said.

The march organizers once lived and fought for democracy in the jungles of
Burma. After yearlong stays in refugee camps in Thailand, they won
political refugee status in the United States. Sunday, they walked past
trailer parks and Wal-Marts; Lin said public reaction has been friendly.
Passers-by have signed petitions, honked and wished good luck.

Part of the mission of the march is to draw the public’s attention to the
plight of the Burmese. Another part is to show solidarity with the
movement back home, although their communication is limited with their
native country. They cannot tell Suu Kyi, whose pictures they carried on
poster board, about their efforts because she is again under house arrest.

Lin said the marchers travel 15 to 20 miles a day. It is about 174 miles
between the Peace Pagoda and the United Nations in Manhattan, but because
the walkers cannot use the Thruway, they are traveling along secondary
roads and expect to cover 200 miles.

_____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 6, Burma Campaign UK
EU puts trade before human rights

France & Germany dictate British foreign policy on Burma

The Burma Campaign UK today condemned the European Union for agreeing to
admit Burma into the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM). The EU has agreed to
Burma's participation as long as it is below head of state level. ASEM
holds biannual summits to foster good relations between Asia and the
European Union.

Although ASEM is just a talking shop, the EU’s decision to allow Burma to
join at ministerial level has important symbolic significance. It weakens
an already feeble EU common policy on Burma.

"At the ASEM summit in November John Prescott, Chirac and Schroder will be
dining with dictators," said John Jackson, Director of the Burma Campaign
UK. "This sends a clear message that the EU puts trade before human
rights."

France and Germany led countries calling for a compromise to allow Burma
into ASEM as long as Burma is represented below head of state level .
"They should be ashamed of themselves," said John Jackson. "Their foreign
policy is obviously led by the interests of their corporations, not by
ethical considerations. They didn't want concerns over Burma to interfere
with business opportunities in China and the rest of Asia." Both countries
also have trade interests in Burma. France's Total Oil is the largest
European investor in Burma. Germany is Europe's largest exporter to Burma.

Activists paid tribute to the British government for fighting hard within
the EU to stop Burma's admittance to ASEM. "Britain did what it could
within the EU, and they deserve credit," said John Jackson. "We are
disappointed that they did not hold firm and use their veto. This does
have serious implications for the future of British policy on Burma. The
EU is moving closer to the regime, which is not what the British
government wants. The question now is whether Britain will continue to
allow Germany and France to dictate its Burma policy, or whether it will
have the courage to act unilaterally."

The Burma Campaign UK scorned possible new sanctions on Burma proposed by
the EU. "This is a fig leaf the size of a pinhead, it doesn't hide their
shame," said John Jackson. "They might as well not bother."

There is a myth that sanctions have been tried and have failed. In fact
the EU has no effective economic sanctions against Burma. It has a visa
ban that has had no impact, and an asset freeze that has not been fully
implemented and has resulted in less than £4,000 being frozen across the
whole of Europe. It also has an arms embargo. The US is the only country
with effective sanctions against Burma. It has banned new investment since
1997 and banned all imports and financial transactions last year.

Europe's decision on admitting Burma into ASEM follows strong pressure
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is an
embarrassing climbdown for Europe. Earlier this year the EU laid down
three key conditions before it would admit Burma into ASEM. They were that
Aung San Suu Kyi and other National League for Democracy leaders must be
released, the NLD be allowed to participate  freely in the National
Convention, and that National Convention procedures were modified and a
definite timeframe for its completion be established. None of these
conditions have been met.

The decision also defies a European Parliament resolution of March 2004,
which demanded that Burma not be admitted to ASEM until irreversible
change towards democracy takes place. Earlier this week the Development
Committee of the European Parliament also issued a statement calling on
the EU to block Burma's membership.

British MPs will also be angered by the move. Ninety MPs backed an Early
Day Motion calling on the British government to block Burma's membership
of ASEM, including 60 Labour backbenchers.

Burma's government in exile, the National Coalition Government of the
Union of Burma, had also called on the EU to reject Burma's membership of
ASEM.

"When Asean admitted Burma as a member they argued engagement was the way
to influence the regime, but there has not been a single democratic reform
in Burma since they joined in 1997," said John Jackson. "ASEM will be no
different. Sitting down with the generals for a cosy chat does not work.
Economic sanctions are what they fear most. The sooner the EU uses its
economic muscle the sooner we'll see reform in Burma."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

*      In the past five years the value of German exports to Burma has
been 162.1 million dollars. (Asia Development Bank)
*    Deutsche Post is part-owned by the German government, its DHL
subsidiary is in a joint venture with the regime. All competing parcel
delivery companies were expelled by the regime in order to maximise
revenues from the joint venture.
*       Since Labour came to power imports from Burma into the UK have
more than tripled, rising from 17.3million pounds in 1998 to 62.2million
pounds in 2003.
*       According to recent figures from the regime, last year the value
of Burmese exports to the UK (64.7 million dollars) were more than to
neighbouring China (62.6 million dollars).
*      Britain ranks as the second largest investor in Burma in the past
decade, with $1.4 billion of approved investment. This compares to just
$64 million by neighbouring China, which is ranked 15th.

_____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

September 7, US Campaign for Burma
Make a vote for freedom online!

Dear Friends of Freedom and Human Rights,

Help raise awareness about the world’s ONLY incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize
Recipient!
Use your online voice in Time Magazine Asia’s “living Asian hero” awards
for 2004 by casting your vote for Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.

To learn more about this incredible woman hero, go to
www.uscampaignforburma.org
Then cast your vote at: https://www.timeinc.net/time/secure/asia/heroes/2004/
About Aung San Suu Kyi

Vaclav Havel has called her “an outstanding example of the power of the
powerless.” Bono, lead singer of U2 says, “She’s my hero.”  Who is this
woman?

Aung San Suu Kyi leads a popular struggle for freedom and democracy in the
Southeast Asian country of Burma.  The country is ruled by one of the
world’s most brutal military regimes, which uses rape, torture, and
killing to maintain its grip on power.  Thousands of Burmese people have
perished in the struggle for human rights and democracy, while
journalists, writers, students, and others remain locked behind bars as
political prisoners.

For her nonviolent resistance to Burma’s military regime, Aung San Suu Kyi
has spent the majority of the past 15 years under house arrest.  However,
like Nelson Mandela when he was imprisoned, Aung San Suu Kyi serves as a
beacon of hope to the Burmese freedom struggle.  Surviving physical abuse,
deprivation of food, and two assassination attempts, she is a shining
light of freedom in a land of darkness.  For her efforts, she has won the
Nobel Peace Prize, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the
European Parliament, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Prize for International
Understanding, and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Jeremy Woodrum
1612 K St, NW #401
Washington, District of Columbia 20006
United States
www.uscampaignforburma.org
info at uscampaignforburma.org