EU 'engaging' Burma despite sanctions

Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win will meet his European counterparts, led by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe (Asem) meeting on May 25-26, European Commission (EC) Ambassador David Lipman said.

They are due to discuss humanitarian aid, an EU office in Rangoon and political developments in Burma including the 2010 poll.

The EU would meet Nyan Win as a "troika" made up of a Czech official (the country holding the EU presidency), an EC official and an official from the Secretary-General of the Council of the EU.

The EU announced on Monday it was extending its sanctions on Burma for another year and urged the military regime to release all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since mid-2003.

The sanctions were targeted at the junta and included an arms embargo, a freeze on Burmese assets and a ban on imports of timber, gemstones and precious metals, Lipman said.

The EU is one of key providers of humanitarian assistance for Burma, and gave 39 million euros (Bt1.8 billion) alone after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country last year. The EU also provides development aid for education and environment.

At the Hanoi meeting, Burma would be asked to be more open to international assistance and extend easier access to foreign aid workers, Lipman said.

The EU would also ask Burma to conduct a free and fair election in 2010 and allow international monitoring, Lipman said. Hopefully, he said, the polls would open a road to democracy and allow a civilian-dominated legislative body, he said. After the election, 75 per cent of the Burmese parliament could be civilians, while the remaining 25 per cent would be military personnel, he noted.