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Burma Raps West for Denying Aid: TO
Subject: Burma Raps West for Denying Aid: TOI/AFP
Myanmar junta raps West for denying aid
The Times of India, New Delhi
Jun. 4, 1999
TOKYO: Myanmar's ruling military junta on Thursday attacked
Western countries for spurning its ``valiant'' efforts at
economic
recovery for their own political agendas.
The country had to rely on itself to gain economic and
investment
growth, visiting Myanmar foreign minister U Win Aung told a
conference in Tokyo on the future of Asia. ``This is because a
few powerful countries for their domestic political agenda
denied
Myanmar not only ODA (Official Development Assistance) but
also access to resources of the international financial
organisations,'' he said.
``This could be likened to the situation where someone who had
the misfortune to fall into a deep ravine, and who because
of his
valiant efforts was able to climb back to the level ground
was not
given a helping hand, but even pushed back into the abyss,'' he
said.
Japan suspended all but a small amount of humanitarian aid
to the
military-run state in the late 1980s but agreed in February
to help
finance reconstruction of the airport in Yangon, Myanmar's
capital. The US has imposed broad sanctions since the ruling
junta crushed a pro-democracy movement and seized power in
1988. In 1997, Washington banned new investment in the
country.
The Myanmar foreign minister said southeast Asia's currency
crisis was responsible for a 53 per cent drop in foreign direct
investment commitments in the fiscal year to March 1998.
Economic growth in the fiscal year to March this year was 5.6
per cent, compared to a target of 6.6 per cent, he said,
largely
because of the Asian financial crisis.
Win Aung said the military was forced to take power in
September 1988 because of civil unrest which led to ``chaos and
anarchy.'' The military was now trying to build a solid
foundation
for democracy, he said. ``We are trying to settle the
situation.''
The UN Human Rights Commission in April condemned
Myanmar for sweeping human rights violations. A resolution
contained a long list of abuses ranging from summary
executions,
torture, and abuse of women to systematic programmes of forced
relocation and widespread use of forced labour. (AFP)
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