Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-06-Speech-4-119"
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"en.20070906.17.4-119"2
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"Mr President, Burma has the shameful record of being ruled by one of the longest-lasting military dictatorships still in existence. Burma has been under a totalitarian military regime for 45 years. An ex-British colony, Burma has suffered a traumatic post-colonial period, which has been fertile ground for the firm establishment of a military junta.
Since 1962, army generals have ruled the country and the Burmese people have endured severe abuses of their human rights. Furthermore, the generals, through their incompetence, have made Burma one of Asia’s poorest countries and a nation in which corruption has assumed gigantic proportions. In addition, Burma has become a cancerous infliction on the rest of the world by being heavily involved in the large-scale trafficking of heroin, with Burma being a major exporter of this deadly drug.
The power figure in Burma today is General Than Shwe, a person of dubious psychological stability, who is reported to be maliciously introverted and superstitious and who frequently takes important state decisions after consulting astrologers. Yet Burma is a country gifted with unparallel natural beauty, a uniquely fertile land and rich mineral resources, as well as significant oil and gas deposits. All of these have been the centre of attraction for foreign investors. But, sadly, the benefits of such investments have not reached the people of Burma, and have largely ended up in the pockets of the dictators and their collaborators.
A hope for return to democratic governing was heard in 1990 when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a national election. But the General suppressed all attempts at democratisation and the NDL leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, not only was prevented from assuming power but was also placed under house arrest, and this despite an international outcry.
Burma has been the subject of human rights resolutions by this House on numerous occasions in the past, and some sanctions have been in place for years. But it has all been in vain, mainly because the Burmese ruling regime enjoys the support of China. The truth is that if we really want to effect democratic changes in Burma, we must direct our blame and our attention at the Chinese Government. We can put pressure on the Chinese, e.g. by threatening them with trade sanctions and an investment embargo on China. If we are brave enough to do that, then we stand a chance of changing things for the better in Burma. If not, then I fear this resolution, like all the previous ones, will end up in General Than Shwe’s dustbin."@en1
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