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Independent (London): EU Sanctions
- Subject: Independent (London): EU Sanctions
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 06:03:00
The Independent (London)
September 4, 2000
LEADING ARTICLE: EU SANCTIONS WOULD HELP TO BRING
DEMOCRACY TO BURMA
"SANCTIONS NOW" is all too often the liberal knee-jerk response to the
brutal oppressions of
dictatorial regimes. There is, in fact, much to be said for the opposite
approach of constructive
engagement with governments that abuse human rights. That approach is
broadly right in relation to
China, where in the long run the best prospect of the spread of liberal
democratic ideas is by opening
up trade. This newspaper has also argued, against Robin Cook, the Foreign
Secretary, and his junior
minister Peter Hain, for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq, in the belief
that they strengthen rather than
weaken Saddam Hussein.
It is not, therefore, simply gesture politics to argue for the imposition
of sanctions on Burma. This is a
case where forceful economic action holds out the promise of advancing the
cause of human rights.
Yesterday, the leaders of the European Union used strong words to condemn
the Burmese
government's intimidation of the pro -democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi -
who was finally forced
to return to her home by 200 riot police after being trapped in her car for
nine days as she attempted
to visit her supporters.
But words are not enough, and Mr Cook has been trying to persuade his EU
colleagues to take up
Ms Suu Kyi's call for sanctions. Burma has been a military dictatorship for
38 years, and the policy of
constructive engagement has not worked. Ms Suu Kyi won a landslide election
10 years ago, and yet
continued foreign trade has not persuaded the junta to relinquish power.
The military chiefs have been
shaken by internal protests, international campaigns and official
expressions of disapproval, but they
will not yield unless the democracy movement is given more concrete
external support. So far the only
action the EU has taken has been to refuse to meet Burmese government
representatives.
This could be the right time to apply pressure, as there is some evidence
that the regime is divided
within itself, with the junta's leader, Than Shwe, reported to be ill and a
struggle possibly developing
for the succession.
The EU should impose trade sanctions on Burma now. The British government
has resisted going it
alone, on the grounds that preventing British companies alone from trading
in Burma could fall foul of
EU competition law - a position that has left it little to fall back on but
exhortation. If EU law has that
effect, it should be tested, challenged and reversed: member states must be
allowed to pursue ethical
foreign policies of their own. Meanwhile, Mr Cook must continue to work
collectively in the EU and
at the United Nations for the widest possible support in helping Ms Suu Kyi
to bring democracy to
the people of Burma.