G8 mulls Myanmar sanction lift

 Posted: 13 April 2012 0731 hrs ... 


WASHINGTON: Group of Eight foreign ministers raised the prospect Thursday of easing international sanctions on Myanmar after a series of reformist moves and landmark elections in the long-closed nation.

In announcing their decision, the ministers from the world powers said they welcomed "significant steps the government of Burma/Myanmar has taken toward democratic reform and national reconciliation."

"The ministers will consider the easing of sanctions to help this country embed reform and fully integrate into international and regional political and economic processes," they said in a final statement after talks in Washington.

Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has surprised observers with a series of reformist moves in the past year after the end of nearly half a century of military rule, and historic by-elections on April 1 have been widely praised.

The elections gave democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi her first seat in parliament after she spent who spent 15 of the past 22 years locked up by the junta.

In their statement, the G8 ministers urged Myanmar to "continue reform and reconciliation efforts, and undertake the unconditional release of all remaining prisoners of conscience and the removal of legal conditions placed on those already released."

It also called for "further steps to end all violence in ethnic minority areas, providing unfettered international humanitarian access to conflict zones and internally displaced persons, and severing of military ties with North Korea."

The ministers said they were ready to assist the country in "advancing reforms and stressed the need for the international community to support these efforts."

They praised the participation of opposition parties in the by-elections, as well as "progress toward preliminary ceasefires with armed ethnic groups, the release of a significant number of political prisoners and measures to eliminate forced labor."

The 27-nation European Union already lifted some restrictions against the regime this year and foreign ministers will decide the next steps when they meet on April 23.

Washington announced early this month that it would ease selected sanctions, but said measures would remain against those opposed to reform.

- AFP/wk

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1194900/1/.html