The EU notes with deep concern that the process of democratisation in Burma/Myanmar has recently suffered a worrying setback as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has stepped up its pressure against ethnic groups and the two main political parties, the National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy. The EU notes that the actions of the SPDC clearly contradict its professed intention to establish a genuine democratic nation.
The EU remains deeply concerned that NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained continuously for three years without charge since the attack on her convoy on 30 May 2003. The EU notes that the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will expire on May 27 and urges the Burmese government to fully restore her freedom and civil liberties. The EU is hopeful that the Burmese government will use this opportunity to enter again into a dialogue with the NLD leadership. The EU considers the recent statements made by the NLD a clear signal of the NLD’s commitment to reaching a peaceful transformation and urges the SPDC to respond positively and constructively.
The EU is concerned about the detention of numerous elected members of Parliament and calls for the immediate release of all of the estimated 1150 political prisoners in Burma/Myanmar. It is particularly concerned to learn that humanitarian conditions in a number of prisons are deteriorating.
The EU urges the SPDC to cease its harassment of politicians and human rights defenders, to lift restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, and to accelerate the democratisation process in Burma/Myanmar. This process should engage all political and ethnic forces of the country in a genuine dialogue and lead to the speedy completion of a constitution under civilian rule, which commands popular support and promotes a peaceful and sustainable development.
The EU welcomes that UN Undersecretary General Gambari was able to meet the most senior leaders of the SPDC as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of her party during his recent visit to Yangon. The EU reaffirms its support for UN efforts to help Burma/Myanmar move in the direction of an all-inclusive democracy and true national reconciliation and calls on the SPDC to co-operate with the UN and its agencies.
The EU will continue to closely monitor the situation in Burma/Myanmar and will coordinate its action with other countries and organizations, including Asian States that have shown keen interest in encouraging Burmese authorities to engage in a credible reform process.
The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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