Vol. 501 No. 3
135 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the proposed participation of the Rangoon Junta at the Asian/EU ministerial meeting to be held in Berlin on 30 March 1999 which would be a breach of the EU common position visa ban on senior Burmese officials; and his views on whether this would be seen as a backward step by the democratic movement. [5776/99]
Meetings between the Foreign Ministers of the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are normally held every two years. The next such meeting is scheduled to be held in Berlin on 30 March.
The EU Common Position on Burma was adopted during the Irish Presidency of the EU in October 1996 in response to the serious human rights abuses which were seen to be taking place in that country. The Common Position has been renewed every six months since then and was strengthened and extended at its most recent renewal by the General Affairs Council last October. Among other things, the Common Position places restrictions on the issue of visas by EU countries to senior members of the current regime in Rangoon.
In July 1997, Burma and Laos were accepted as full member states of ASEAN. As a result, Burma now expects to participtate in all formal EU-ASEAN encounters, including the Foreign Ministers meeting scheduled to be held in Berlin next month. However, the Burmese Foreign Minister, Win Aung, is included in the list of those covered by the EU visa ban and will not therefore be granted a visa by the German authorities to attend the meeting unless all EU partners agree to a waiver of the ban. Ireland is among those who believe that the Common Position should be respected and upheld in this instance.
At this point in time, it seems unlikely that agreement will be reached among partners to grant the Burmese Foreign Minister a visa. Should that prove to be the case, it is understood that the ASEAN side will refuse to attend the Berlin meeting which will accordingly have to be either cancelled or postponed.
