Vol. 487 No. 5
41 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the ongoing house arrest of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi; and if he will make a statement on interventions, if any, made by himself or his EU counterparts in this matter. [4327/98]
66 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether the newly named regime in Burma (Myanmar) should be ostracised and the efforts being made at EU and UN level to isolate the regime and encourage the restoration of democracy. [4268/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 66 together.
The Government is deeply concerned at the curtailment of the civil rights of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi whose National League for Democracy party won 82 per cent of the vote in the 1990 parliamentary elections in Burma. Although her house arrest was formally ended in 1995, her freedom of movement, association and expression continues to be severely restricted by military roadblocks around her residence and by other measures. The case of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi has been raised both with the Burmese authorities and at appropriate international fora on a number of occasions.
On 28 October 1996, the European Union adopted a Common Position on Burma-Myanmar which currently remains in force. In accordance with this, the EU has placed an embargo on all arms, munitions and military equipment to Burma and suspended all non-humaniatarian aid or development projects. In addition, all Burmese military personnel attached to diplomatic missions in the EU have been expelled, visa restrictions against members of the governing regime put in place and high-level bilateral visits to Burma suspended.
The EU Common Position is directed at the absence of progress towards democratisation and at the continuing violation of human rights in Burma. All members states of the EU are committed to doing all in their power to persuade the Burmese authorities to meet the conditions called for in the Common Position. Likewise, at the United Nations, the General Assembly has unanimously called for an improvement in the human rights situation in Burma.
The Government will avail of every opportunity to press on the Burmese authorities the urgent need to address human rights abuses in their country.
