[Reader-list] PRESSURE ON BURMA: EU persists with 'carrot and stick'

[Rana Dasgupta]

EU persists with 'carrot and stick': FBC Posting 10/30/03

PRESSURE ON BURMA: EU persists with 'carrot and stick'

THE NATION
Published on Oct 31, 2003
PRESSURE ON BURMA: EU persists with 'carrot and stick'


by Rungrawee C Pinyorat


Rangoon claims US sanctions forcing women into sex
trade

The European Union yesterday reiterated its "carrot
and stick" approach to get Burma to improve its
political and human rights situation, saying
humanitarian issues and politics should remain
separate.

The need for humanitarian aid in Burma is huge, said
Ruth Albuquerque, head of the European Commission
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) overseeing Asia and
Latin America. 

"We do not agree with the state of affairs in Burma;
however, we should address humanitarian needs," she
said. 

"There are lots of constraints and we still cannot
cover all the needs of these people," Albuquerque
said. 

Yesterday's statement came as the Burmese military
government urged the United States to lift its
"misguided" economic sanctions, saying the policy was
forcing people into prostitution.

The sanctions - aimed at punishing the junta for
detaining pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi - led
to the loss of 40,000 jobs for young women, who now
feel compelled to enter the "flourishing illegal sex
and entertainment industry", a government statement
said. 

"If the United States wishes to help [Burma] toward
peace and democracy, we welcome their cooperation,"
the statement said. "But if the United States does not
wish to cooperate, we ask at least that they stop
forcing the people of [Burma] into poverty and
prostitution." 

The statement was in response to a biannual US State
Department review of conditions in Burma. 

Washington first imposed sanctions in 1997 in an
effort to pressure the junta to introduce democratic
reforms. Harsher sanctions were imposed after Suu
Kyi's detention following clashes on May 30 between
supporters of her National League for Democracy party
and what many in the opposition claimed to be
government thugs.

The EU established its position on Burma in 1996. It
includes an arms embargo, visa bans for senior Burmese
officials and freezing of assets.

ECHO this year provided 4.2 million euros (Bt196
million) to international non-government organisations
to support projects for basic healthcare, malaria
control and water sanitation. The NGOs work in remote
areas such as the Rakhine, Chin, Shan and Mon states,
and the Thanintharyi and Yangin Divisions. 

Since 1992, ECHO has provided more than 500 million
euros a year on average in aid to more than 85
countries. Last year, it allocated 22 million euros to
Southeast Asian countries.