EU slams Myanmar (Burma) on Human Rights, Democracy
September 11, 2006    
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1979246,curpg-1.cms

Myanmar’s lack of democracy and human rights abuses came under fire at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Helsinki, Finland. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen criticized Myanmar’s failure to make any substantial improvements to their hard-line military regime, claiming that “Nothing has happened.”

Myanmar’s military regime government has outlawed opposition political parties, monopolizes ministerial posts, heavily regulates major political groups, and has very little tolerance for dissent.  Additionally, despite international outrage from the UN, ASEAN, and human rights organizations, the country currently has Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a political activist for peace and democracy in Myanmar, under house arrest.

Although trade is booming among ASEM’s members (the 25 EU countries and 13 Asian states) and the organization will most likely expand to include Romania, Bulgaria, India, and Pakistan, strong political relations among the partners are still lacking. Arguments over certain member countries’ human rights practices, lack of democracy, and even unease over “Asia’s rising economic power,” has hindered closer political ties among the ASEM members.