David Miliband

Burma - Europe does not forget

Yesterday I met the other EU Foreign Ministers in  Luxembourg where,  given the 2 May anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, we  returned to the issue of Burma. Time ticks on for the humanitarian situation to be addressed - the relief operation in the delta, to which the UK has already contributed £45 million, achieved more than ever looked possible in the dark days of May/June 2008. But in many other areas, people continue to endure unacceptable and unnecessary hardships. And the basic facts of political repression are unchanged. Burma faces a critical year in the run up to elections in 2010 that exclude key opposition groups.

More than 2000 political prisoners, including Aung Sang Suu Kyi, remain behind bars.   We have not forgotten the commitments to the Burmese people that we made during their protests in 2007 and as such it was right for the EU to extend its sanctions against the regime for a further 12 months.

Posted at 15:46 28 April 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]