Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - China issued an evenhanded plea for calm in Myanmar on Thursday after refusing to condemn the military-run government, while Southeast Asian nations expressed "revulsion" at the violent repression of the demonstrations.
The United States said it was imposing economic sanctions against 14 top officials in the military junta.
A statement issued after a foreign ministers' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial meeting in New York strongly urged Myanmar's government "to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution."
The ASEAN ministers called for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.
"They expressed their revulsion to Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win over reports that the demonstrations in Myanmar are being suppressed by violent force and that there has been a number of fatalities," the statement said.
"They strongly urged Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution," it said. "They called upon Myanmar to resume its efforts at national reconciliation with all parties concerned, and work towards a peaceful transition to democracy."
Myanmar is an ASEAN member, along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
China has come under increasing pressure to use its regional influence to urge Myanmar's ruling junta to show restraint in dealing with the protests.
On Wednesday, China refused to condemn Myanmar and ruled out imposing sanctions, but for the first time agreed to a Security Council statement expressing concern at the violent crackdown and urging the country's military rulers to allow in a U.N. envoy.
The U.N. special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, headed for Myanmar at Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's request to try to promote a political solution and reconciliation efforts. U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Ban had been told by Win that Gambari "will be welcomed by the Myanmar government."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing that "China hopes that all parties in Myanmar exercise restraint and properly handle the current issue so as to ensure the situation there does not escalate and get complicated."
The crackdown puts China in a bind. Its communist government has developed close diplomatic ties with junta leaders and is a major investor in Myanmar. But with the Beijing Olympics less than a year away, China is eager to fend off criticism that it shelters unpopular or abusive regimes.
China and Russia contend the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair and doesn't threaten international peace and security — as required for Security Council action — so getting them to agree to the press statement was considered a positive step.
The Bush administration announced that 14 senior officials in Myanmar would be subject to sanctions. Those targeted include the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, and the No. 2 man, Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye. The action freezes any assets the 14 have in U.S. banks or other financial institutions under U.S. jurisdiction, and also prohibits any U.S. citizens from doing business with those individuals.
At the United Nations on Tuesday, Bush accused Myanmar of imposing "a 19-year reign of fear" that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.
"The world is watching the people of Burma take to the streets to demand their freedom, and the American people stand in solidarity with these brave individuals," Bush said in a statement.
European Union diplomats agreed to consider imposing more economic sanctions on Myanmar. Sanctions were first imposed in 1996 and include a ban on travel to Europe for top government officials, an assets freeze and a ban on arms sales to Myanmar.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing that the use of force by the junta "will solve nothing."
"We all need to agree on the fact that the Burmese government has got to stop thinking that this can be solved by police and military, and start thinking about the need for genuine reconciliation with the broad spectrum of political activists in the country," he added.
Hill was expected to discuss the violence in Myanmar with Chinese officials on the sidelines of North Korean nuclear disarmament talks this week in Beijing. He declined to say whether Washington would request specific measures from Beijing.
Among those killed Thursday was Kenji Nagai, a journalist for the Japanese video news agency APF News. Nagai, 50, had been covering the protests since Tuesday, APF representative Toru Yamaji said in Japan.
In Washington, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tokyo held Myanmar "strictly" accountable for Nagai's death. The 50-year-old journalist had been covering the protests in Yangon, APF representative Toru Yamaji said in Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan will lodge a protest with Myanmar, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. "We strongly protest the Myanmar government and demand an investigation" into the death, Machimura was quoted as saying by the official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, as saying. "We demand (Myanmar) take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the Japanese citizens in that country."
Japan will send Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka to Myanmar to protest Nagai's death, said Tomohiko Taniguchi, a deputy press secretary traveling with Komura in Washington.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said his government would also press Beijing to urge the junta to end its violent repression.
___
Associated Press writers Mari Yamiguchi in Tokyo, Foster Klug and Martin Crutsinger in Washington, Jan Sliva in Brussels, Belgium, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
The United States said it was imposing economic sanctions against 14 top officials in the military junta.
A statement issued after a foreign ministers' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial meeting in New York strongly urged Myanmar's government "to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution."
The ASEAN ministers called for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.
"They expressed their revulsion to Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win over reports that the demonstrations in Myanmar are being suppressed by violent force and that there has been a number of fatalities," the statement said.
"They strongly urged Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution," it said. "They called upon Myanmar to resume its efforts at national reconciliation with all parties concerned, and work towards a peaceful transition to democracy."
Myanmar is an ASEAN member, along with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
China has come under increasing pressure to use its regional influence to urge Myanmar's ruling junta to show restraint in dealing with the protests.
On Wednesday, China refused to condemn Myanmar and ruled out imposing sanctions, but for the first time agreed to a Security Council statement expressing concern at the violent crackdown and urging the country's military rulers to allow in a U.N. envoy.
The U.N. special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, headed for Myanmar at Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's request to try to promote a political solution and reconciliation efforts. U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Ban had been told by Win that Gambari "will be welcomed by the Myanmar government."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing that "China hopes that all parties in Myanmar exercise restraint and properly handle the current issue so as to ensure the situation there does not escalate and get complicated."
The crackdown puts China in a bind. Its communist government has developed close diplomatic ties with junta leaders and is a major investor in Myanmar. But with the Beijing Olympics less than a year away, China is eager to fend off criticism that it shelters unpopular or abusive regimes.
China and Russia contend the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair and doesn't threaten international peace and security — as required for Security Council action — so getting them to agree to the press statement was considered a positive step.
The Bush administration announced that 14 senior officials in Myanmar would be subject to sanctions. Those targeted include the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, and the No. 2 man, Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye. The action freezes any assets the 14 have in U.S. banks or other financial institutions under U.S. jurisdiction, and also prohibits any U.S. citizens from doing business with those individuals.
At the United Nations on Tuesday, Bush accused Myanmar of imposing "a 19-year reign of fear" that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.
"The world is watching the people of Burma take to the streets to demand their freedom, and the American people stand in solidarity with these brave individuals," Bush said in a statement.
European Union diplomats agreed to consider imposing more economic sanctions on Myanmar. Sanctions were first imposed in 1996 and include a ban on travel to Europe for top government officials, an assets freeze and a ban on arms sales to Myanmar.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing that the use of force by the junta "will solve nothing."
"We all need to agree on the fact that the Burmese government has got to stop thinking that this can be solved by police and military, and start thinking about the need for genuine reconciliation with the broad spectrum of political activists in the country," he added.
Hill was expected to discuss the violence in Myanmar with Chinese officials on the sidelines of North Korean nuclear disarmament talks this week in Beijing. He declined to say whether Washington would request specific measures from Beijing.
Among those killed Thursday was Kenji Nagai, a journalist for the Japanese video news agency APF News. Nagai, 50, had been covering the protests since Tuesday, APF representative Toru Yamaji said in Japan.
In Washington, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tokyo held Myanmar "strictly" accountable for Nagai's death. The 50-year-old journalist had been covering the protests in Yangon, APF representative Toru Yamaji said in Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan will lodge a protest with Myanmar, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. "We strongly protest the Myanmar government and demand an investigation" into the death, Machimura was quoted as saying by the official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, as saying. "We demand (Myanmar) take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the Japanese citizens in that country."
Japan will send Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka to Myanmar to protest Nagai's death, said Tomohiko Taniguchi, a deputy press secretary traveling with Komura in Washington.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said his government would also press Beijing to urge the junta to end its violent repression.
___
Associated Press writers Mari Yamiguchi in Tokyo, Foster Klug and Martin Crutsinger in Washington, Jan Sliva in Brussels, Belgium, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
14 comments:
If the communist China could help Khmer Rouge to commit genocide in Cambodia, I don't think it bother to care about the livelihood of the Burmese people. But sooner or later, the communist dictatorship will be wiped out from human history for a simple reason that it engineer its own destruction.
I agree with the stand of China present leadership who will not interfer other countries internal problems. Their past to support KHmer rouge has made them very embarrassing to the world and their own conscience. Noone will really know that how good from changing from these present leaderships from Burma to another group who is fighting to rule Burma. The future leadership can be a good one or can be a rudeless one too. In 1975, every single people of Cambodia had never thought that Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Sihanouk can kill their own people up to 4 millions people at all. Therefore we cannot judge other country by our own feeling. USA has removed Saddam Hussein from power for the sake of Human Right and peace, but Iraqi is now facing with social problems which will not easy to fix. Each new leader is so corrupted. they have put monies before everything. The people of each country has to fight for their own destiny and tehir own future. As a Nation, we can only accepte the government who has represented their people in legitimacy. Areak Prey
the only way to govern the people legitimately is to SPREAD THE FUCKING WEALTHS!!!. when everybody stomach is full, there won't be any envy and killing.
Fuck China's plead. If those idiots ever sending a rock to me, I am replying with a flying piece of lead to their fucking foreheads, period. I don't give a damn what they are about.
8:53, are you a commie?
10:05 AM,
8:53 PM is not a commie, you see, in America, they give welfare to the poors to pacify them. So, he is correct, you give them a full stomach, they will not bother you on how you have created your welth.
True, but they didn't spread the Wealth. Look at Bill Gate, he have 8-10 billions in asset, and some of the richer has up to 50 billions (nearly 10 Cambodia's GDP). The prez. salary is in multi millions ... . So where is the spread of the wealth? Or do you just mean give just give the poor peanut and that is good enough?
In commie system, they spread the wealth equally. The problem is they are all poor due to lack of motivation for creativity and innovation that is need to sustain a healthy economy in country. What I mean is people tend not to do extra work because there is no reward for it, and that is bad.
10:41 AM, do you actually believe the commies are sharing wealth (equally) and power? In capitalist world, the rich and corporations dictate how people live, while in communist world the few powerful men control the state. In reality, people just choose the lesser of the two evils.
No way dude, you are trapped by the 60's propaganda. Those you called "the powerful few" are really the wealth keepers and steward. Without them, you will have a wild wild west in your hand. And as you said there is only a few of them; so what is a big deal? Everyone is really equal.
China is the regional leader and will soon become world leader. We must cooperate with this great power.
China had tried to persuade the Khmer Rouge to stop killing their own people. I don't think they knew that the Khmer Rouge would do such a thing when they supported them. The US continued supporting the Khmer Rouge in the early 80s, when it's known to the world that they are a bunch of genocidal lunatics. Please get the facts straight.
"Please get the facts straight," 4:35?
You are expecting too much, my friend. KI Media and their PhD friends can't even tell a horse's head from a horse's arse.
To 4:31PM and 4:35PM!
Oh well! China and United States just want to get even with the Vietcong that is all!
Please tell me you don't remember the Vietname War which killed over 56,000 American soldiers and forced United States to withdraw from Indochina!
There is a time and place for everything!
And what is the US and China is going to do with vietcongs.
Post a Comment