Germany boycotts Interpol conferenc

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Subject: Germany boycotts Interpol conference

Germany boycotts Interpol-Conference in Burma

After much hesitation, Germany has finally decided not
to take part in an Interpol-conference on heroin in Burma.
The move threatens the EU-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting
in Berlin at the end of March.

The German Federal Government will not send a delegation
of police officers to Interpol's 4th Heroin Conference taking
place in Rangoon from Tuesday, February 23rd,  onwards. The decision
came after most other EU-states had already declared that they
would not take part in the much debated meeting. A Foreign Office
spokesman declared that the "current human rights situation" in Burma 
was the main reason for Germany's boycott. Burma is ruled by a
military junta infamous for its atrocious human rights record. 

Up to Tuesday, there had not been any indications for the German
move. The explosive nature of the situation had apparently only slowly 
dawned on the authorities in Bonn. It was only at the beginning of this
week that the Foreign Office took over responsibility for German 
participation in the conference from the Federal Criminal Police Office.

France's decision earlier this week not to attend the Rangoon conference might
have helped German officials to make up their minds. France, where the
headquarters 
of Interpol are situated, was generally regarded the most important European
supporter of the conference, while Great-Britain and the US strongly 
opposed the meeting from the start. Critics fear that the conference lends
the junta legitimacy and accuse Interpol of ignoring the junta's
involvement in
international drug trafficking. Burma is the  world's greatest producer of
heroin and 
opium. US-foreign secretary Madeleine Albright and her British counterpart
Robin Cook 
have repeatedly accused the junta of co-operating with drug traffickers.

With Germany's boycott of the Interpol conference, it becomes more and more
unlikely that an EU-ASEAN foreign ministers' conference in Berlin scheduled
for 
March 30th will actually go through. The question whether or not Burma which 
became a member of ASEAN in 1997 will be allowed to participate in the 
meeting is subject to controversy between the EU and ASEAN. The
EU has placed a visa ban on Burmese government officials.


The Foreign Office in Bonn refuses to comment on the conflict. In
diplomatic circles
it is widely known, however, that Germany would like Burma to attend the
meeting.
One reason is that German officials are more and more doubtful about the
positive impact
of the current international policy of isolating Burma. Secondly they want
to save the
Berlin meeting, because the ASEAN-states will not attend if Burma is
excluded. 
  
But for Great Britain, in particular, this is not enough. The British
government demands 
fundamental improvements in the human rights situation in Burma. Only
recently, 270 
dissidents were sentenced to long prison terms.

By Sven Hansen, published in "Die Tageszeitung", Berlin (one of Germany's
major dailys)
February 19th 99
Translation by the Burma Bureau, Germany