Myanmar was urged by EU Troika to bring about democratic reforms
10 Sep 2006, 16:14
The EU Troika had a meeting with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister U Nyan Win on Sunday, 10 September, in Helsinki in connection with the ASEM Summit. “We reiterated the EU’s well-known position with regard to the lack of democratic reforms and human rights in Myanmar”, said Under Secretary of State Markus Lyra who represented the EU Presidency in the troika meeting.
“The Myanmar delegation assured us they were seriously striving for democratic reforms”, said Lyra while emphasising the need of opposition parties to be involved in the reform process.
EU Troika meetings with the Myanmar leadership are a regular point of contact between the Myanmar government and the EU. James Moran, the Asia director at the European Commission, and Peter Christian Hauswedell of the German Foreign Ministry were also present in the Helsinki meeting with U Nyan Win and his delegation.
The EU Troika urged the military government to enter into a true process of national reconciliation and democratisation. The EU wished to see an early resumption of a national legislature where all legitimate representatives would able to participate. The launch of a democratisation process would also require the release of the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political detainees.
Foreign Minister U Nyan Win reiterated his government’s serious intentions towards democratisation and said they were ready to cooperate with the United Nations,while at the same reminding the EU Troika that opposition groups were armed.
India, Pakistan and Mongolia new ASEM partners
The ASEM process will bring in new partners as the Asian governments agreed on Sunday in Helsinki that India, Pakistan and Mongolia would be invited to join the cooperation forum, said Markus Lyra. The Secretariat of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will also be invited as a member.
