EU vows more pressure on Yangon

EU vows more pressure on Yangon

Associated Press, Hanoi

The European Union (EU) is determined to press ahead with additional sanctions against Myanmar if the military junta refuses to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Dutch foreign minister said on Thursday.

The EU dropped its objections last month to allowing Myanmar to attend the Asia-Europe summit, which starts on Friday in Hanoi, deciding instead to protest the regime's dismal human rights record and anti-democracy moves with possible additional sanctions.

Foreign Minister Bernard Bot of the Netherlands, which holds the EU presidency, said European nations would meet on Monday to formally approve the proposed sanctions, as it grew increasingly unlikely that Myanmar would release Suu Kyi from house arrest or meet other EU conditions by the summit's opening on Friday as demanded.

"It is very important that we maintain the pressure, that we not give the impression that we accept a situation which for us is unacceptable," Bot told reporters in Hanoi.

The EU's differences with Myanmar's military junta nearly led to a European boycott of the summit. Some Asian members of ASEM consider human rights a matter for individual countries to decide, while others see the EU actions as interference in Myanmar's domestic affairs.

Southeast Asian members refused to exclude Myanmar and threatened to block the inclusion of 10 new members of the EU from ASEM, forcing Brussels to back away from a boycott. As a compromise, Myanmar will be represented by a lower-level delegation.

The other Asian member countries -- Japan, South Korea and China -- did not disagree with the Southeast Asian countries on the Myanmar issue.

"The fact that Myanmar is able to join itself, we think is progress," said Akira Chiba, a spokesman for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "Japan is, of course, interested in further democratization of Myanmar and we hope that Myanmar will cooperate with the world community."

Several European leaders -- such as French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- chose to skip the ASEM enlargement ceremony on Thursday evening.

But Bot said European participation in the Hanoi summit was useful because it gave the EU a forum to confront Myanmar and publicize its complaints.

"Here we are able to voice our opposition to the way in which the Burmese authorities are acting," he said. "The possibility to exert pressure directly on the regime is important."

The proposed sanctions include an extension of the visa ban on Myanmar military authorities and their families, a prohibition on EU companies providing loans and other financing to Myanmar state-owned companies, and other measures.

To avoid those sanctions, the EU has demanded Myanmar release Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since last year, and give her party a role in writing a constitution.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai presided over an elaborate outdoor ceremony to formally add 10 countries that joined the EU in May and three Southeast Asian countries to the biennial meeting.

"An enlarged ASEM with 39 members makes up 40 percent and 50 percent of the world's population and GDP, respectively," Khai said. "With this, ASEM emerges as a political and economic entity fully capable of playing an important role in world peace, security and development."

As European and Asian leaders stood on a large stage, a military honor guard raised the colorful flags of the new members behind them.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen spoke on behalf of the three new Asian members -- his country, Laos, and Myanmar -- thanking ASEM for its "unanimous decision to welcome the three countries into the great ASEM family."

The European members of ASEM are Austria, Belgium, Britain, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The European Commission is also a member.

The Asian members are Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.