Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:79 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the State's attitude to the military junta in Burma; whether its views have been expressed at EC and or UN level; and if so, when.
Written Answers. - Burmese Military Junta.
Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:80 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he has raised the case of Aung San Suu Kyi whose party secured 80 per cent of the vote in Burma and who has since been held under house arrest by the military junta there; and whether he has proposed the imposition of sanctions against Burma at EC and or UN level pending the restoration of democracy there.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 80 together.
Ireland welcomes the award of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy party in Burma. We hope that the award will lead the Burmese military finally to recognise the isolation they have brought upon their country and the aversion felt by the international community at her continued house arrest.
The situation in Burma, both in relation to human rights abuses and the failure of the military junta to respect the results of the May 1990 elections, continues to be a matter of the gravest concern to the Government.
Together with our partners in the Community, and on a number of occasions over the past year, we have expressed our deep concern at the continuing failure of the Burmese military authorities to respect the democratically expressed will of the Burmese people. In addition, the situation in Burma has led the Community and its member states to suspend non-humanitarian development aid programmes and reduce economic and trade relations to a minimum.
At the meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on 27 February, the Twelve expressed their grave concern at the deterioration in the human rights situation in Burma and noted the inclusion of Burma in a report on torture compiled by the Commission's Special Rapporteur. At the same time, an urgent appeal was made by the Twelve to the Burmese rulers to transfer power without delay to the victors in the 1990 elections.
The Twelve's continuing concern has been reflected in statements issued on 27 May, on 29 July and, most recently, in the statement delivered by the Presidency on behalf of the Twelve at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 24 September.
On 27 May the Community and its member states condemned the numerous shortcomings in respect of internationally accepted rules of conduct and of human rights, the continuing harassment, detention and house arrest of opposition leaders, prominent among whom is Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, and the refusal to free policial prisoners.
Appalled that the Burmese authorities continue to spend large amounts of their country's meagre resources on arms, the Twelve announced on 29 July their decision to refuse the sale of any military equipment from Community countries to Burma. They called on the rest of the international community to show similar restraint and desist from all such sales. In their statement to the United Nations General Assembly, the Community and its member states once again called on the Burmese Government to respect the mandate laid down by the Burmese people in May 1990 and to introduce a democratic multi-party system. The Community indicated its willingness to re-establish constructive relations with Burma, including a resumption of development assistance programmes, once Burma fulfils its obligations in the field of human rights and democracy.