European and Asian officials settl

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Subject: European and Asian officials  settle Burma dispute 

Wednesday, March 31, 1999 Published at 13:19 GMT 14:19 UK 


             World: Europe

             European and Asian officials
             settle Burma dispute 



             Officials from the European Union have agreed to meet
             their counterparts from the Association of South-East
             Asian countries in May despite disagreements over
             Burma. 

             Germany's Ambassador to Thailand, Hermann Erath,
             said the frequently postponed meeting would go ahead
             as a gesture of goodwill by the European Union. 

             He said the talks would begin in Bangkok on May the
             twenty-sixth with Burmese representatives sitting in but
             unable to speak. 

             European officials had earlier demanded the exclusion of
             Burma in protest against human rights abuses in the
             country. 

             From the newsroom of the BBC World Service