A Europe-wide day of action focussing on Portugal as EU President will take place on Friday 31st August. Members of the European Burma Network, the European coalition of organisations campaigning on Burma, will be organising a variety of actions, including protests at embassies, letter writing campaigns and emailing Portuguese embassies. At least 11 countries will be taking part, including UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, Austria, Poland and Norway.
In London there will be a protest at the Portuguese Embassy, 12noon-1pm, 11 Belgrave Sq, SW1X 8PP. Nearest tube Hyde Park Corner.
The day of action is in response to the failure of the European Union to take any concrete action in response to the Burmese military regime’s crackdown on peaceful protestors in Burma. To date the only step taken by the EU has been to issue a statement of concern.
“The EU is one of the most powerful political and economic organisations in the world, but it is doing nothing to support those risking arrest and torture in Burma,” said Myo Thein, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “As EU President, Portugal has a responsibility to ensure a strong response from the EU. The EU must strengthen the Common Position on Burma, and give its support to Burma being addressed by the United Nations Security Council.”
EU Foreign Ministers meet in Portugal on 7th and 8th of September. European Campaign groups are calling for ministers to put Burma on the agenda and discuss strengthening the Common Position.
For more information contact Myo Thein on 07877882386, or Mark Farmaner on 07941239640.
NOTES TO EDITORS: BACKGROUND, THE EU AND BURMA
EU members are committed to a common foreign policy on Burma. In theory, this could be highly effective, with all 27 EU members working together to help bring democratic reform in Burma. In fact, we are left with the lowest common denominator, and a weak and ineffective response that has had no impact on the regime. As all 27 EU members have to agree on sanctions or any issue, it only takes one country to say no, and then nothing happens. The EU is divided on how to deal with Burma. A handful of countries, UK, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, favour increasing pressure to various degrees. A handful of countries have opposed increasing pressure, and some even favour reducing existing measures taken by the EU. These are France, Germany, Austria, Spain and Poland. France’s opposition is attributed to the fact that Total Oil, France’s largest company, is a big investor in Burma. France has, however, supported proposals for a non-punitive resolution on Burma at the United Nations Security Council. The division within the EU has meant that it is left without a strategy for dealing with the situation in Burma. A previous policy of gradually increasing pressure on the regime if there was no change, and relaxing pressure if there was positive change, is no longer being applied. The protests and subsequent crackdown in Burma in August 2007, highlighted the EU’s lack of strategy. It took four days for the EU even to issue a statement, and no action was proposed.