Demonstration at German Embassy, 23 Belgrave Sq, London, 3.30pm Monday 1st October.
The Burma Campaign UK and campaign groups across Europe are to turn their campaigning focus on Germany, which, along with France, has in the past blocked tough EU economic sanctions.
“Germany must stop protecting the regime in Burma,” said Mark Farmaner, Acting Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “The EU must impose tough targeted economic sanctions, including a complete ban on new investment, a ban on financial transactions, banning key imports such as timber and gems, and freezing the regimes assets. The EU must stop funding this brutal dictatorship. We call on Germany to publicly state it will support tough new economic sanctions.”
On Friday Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the Burma Campaign UK and pledged to push for tough economic sanctions. Negotiations between European capitals are believed to be taking place now.
France had been one of the main opponents of banning new investment in Burma, a key demand of Burma’s democracy movement for more than a decade. France’s Total Oil, the largest company in France, is also the largest European investor in Burma. But France has now come out in support of banning new investment, leaving Germany as the main obstacle to the EU implementing sanctions.
“The current EU Common Position is pathetic,” said Mark Farmaner. “It has no economic impact on the regime. If you wanted to design a sanctions regime to miss the mark, this would be it.”
Background to 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 has been divided on how to deal with Burma. A handful of countries, UK, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, have favoured increasing pressure by varying degrees. A handful of countries have opposed increasing pressure. These were France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Poland.
The division within the EU has meant that it was 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.
Current EU measures against Burma include:
An arms embargo
Welcome, but the EU has made no effort to secure a United Nations arms embargo, so the regime can still purchase weapons from other countries.
A ban on non-humanitarian aid
Again welcome, but not a measure that has a serious impact on the regime.
An end to GSP trade privileges
Again, no significant economic impact on the regime.
A visa ban for senior regime officials and their families
Otherwise known as the shopping ban, as exemptions in the visa ban allow regime officials to attend many international meetings in Europe. As the British foreign office has admitted, regime officials rarely came to Europe anyway.
A freeze of assets held in Europe by people on the visa ban list
From information released to the Burma Campaign UK by the German and British governments, less than €7,000 has been frozen in all 27 EU member states, again hardly a measure to bring the regime to its knees.
A limited investment ban – targets pineapples, but not gas or timber
This measure was introduced in 2004. The point of an investment ban is to stop revenue going to the regime, much of which will be spent on the military. The obvious option available was to ban all new investment, as the USA did in 1997. Instead, European companies are banned from investing in a small number of named state-owned enterprises. The state-owned companies named are mostly insignificant. The timber, mining, oil and gas sectors are not included. However, European companies are banned from investing in a pineapple juice factory and a tailor shop. In addition, it is already illegal to invest in state-owned enterprises under Burmese law, so the EU banned something that couldn’t happen anyway.
For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 02073244713.