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Britain calls for tougher action ag



Britain calls for tougher action against Myanmar

Thu 15 Oct 98 - 20:56 GMT

LONDON, Oct 15 (AFP) - Britain called Thursday for tougher action against
Myanmar, possibly including a ban on EU transit visas for its military
junta, to pressure Yangon to improve its record on democracy and human
rights.

Junior Foreign Office minister Derek Fatchett said he wanted the European
Union to step up pressure on the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
the official name of the ruling military regime in Yangon.

The European Union has already taken a series of measures against Myanmar,
including military and economic embargoes and a ban on entry visas for
senior members of the SPDC and their families.

Fatchett, speaking at a conference here on the country, formerly known as
Burma, said the visa ban could be
extended to transit visas too.

"Why should European airports or capitals be open to SPDC officials as
convenient stopping points -- and shopping or tourism havens -- on the way
to meetings in New York or Geneva?" he asked.

The SPDC refuses to recognise 1990 general elections which the National
League for Democracy under Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won by a
large majority. Fatchett said the political situation in Myanmar was "grim"
with "callous, country-wide human rights abuses."

"We need, among other things, to have measures which make clear to the
regime that Burma will not be integrated into the world until its government
changes its ways."

Fatchett also demanded action within the International Labour Organization
(ILO), saying Britain would call for Myanmar's suspension from the UN agency
if it failed to match its obligations as a member.

Myanmar has also come under heavy pressure to improve its record from the
United States and Canada, which have enacted similar boycotts and sanctions.

Fatchett said Britain could not support investment, trade or tourism in
Myanmar or "outside assistance which lines the pockets of the regime."

"We will argue for strong action in the International Labour Organization,
including suspension, if Burma is shown to have contravened its ILO
obligations," he added.

The ILO is a specialised UN agency that seeks to improve labour and living
conditions and promote social justice. Member countries are supposed to
bring their laws into lines with internationally agreed norms.

Fatchett added however that Britain did not want to work alone. "Insular
grandstanding" would do little good.

"It must be right to work for the widest possible recogniton that, without
the restoration of democracy, Burma will not be able to come back in from
the cold of international isolation."

)AFP 1998