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Rome, 17 June (AKI) - A leading Burmese trade unionist and opposition figure, Maung Maung, has called on more western countries to enforce economic and financial sanctions against the military government.
“Sanctions are different in the US where the president and officials are working together. Customs people look at what comes in and if they see anything Burmese they stop it,” Maung told Adnkronos International (AKI).
Maung was in the Italian capital Rome to attend a two-day conference entitled ‘A New Global Agenda for Democrats’ beginning on Wednesday.
He was also expected to attend the inauguration on Tuesday of a new friendship association between Italian parliamentarians and Burma.
Maung lives in exile in Thailand. Burma’s opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent many years under house arrest in the city of Rangoon.
European Union foreign ministers agreed last October to adopt a package of measures against Burma’s military junta, which include an embargo on key exports including wood, metals and gemstones.
The EU sanctions however did not cover the economic sector. “The EU is a composition of many countries so we have differences of interpretation…So what we would like to have in the EU especially is an enforcement mechanism,” Maung said.
“Resolutions are good but they are not effective if you don’t have any enforcement mechanisms,” he stressed.
The US does have such mechanisms, and unlike the EU are investigating suspect financial transactions, while this is not being done in the EU, Maung noted.
US Customs officials are also very vigilant when inspecting shipments of goods, he said.
The EU sanctions followed the military’s brutal repression last year of a popular revolt against fuel prices. At least 15 people died in the crackdown according to the government, but many observers, including the United Nations, say the death toll was higher.
Maung criticised Burma’s new constitution. Under this, at least 25 percent of seats in the parliament are allocated to the military and only the commander in chief may elect the prime minister.
Any president must have ten years’ military experience and the constitution cannot be amended if a single person disagrees.
“These are the things we don’t want in a constitution,” Maung said.
Maung has asked Italy for its support in making the Burmese opposition Burma’s legitimate representative at the UN.
“We had an election back in 1990, which the regime ran. And there were people who wanted the election. It was Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.
“So they are people who ran for an election. It was a free and fair election. It was an election recognised by the regime. And these are the people who should be forming a parliament, who should be forming the government.
“They are the people who should be in the UN representing the country,” he said.

Italy: Burmese trade unionist accuses military of crimes against humanity

Rome, 18 June (AKI) - Burma’s political opposition wants to take the country’s ruling military junta to the International Court of Justice on charges of crimes against humanity, according to a top Burmese trade unionist and opposition figure, Maung Maung.
He claims Burma’s new constitution only reinforces the military’s grip on power.
“The constitution approved in a farcical referendum only strengthens the military’s presence on the political scene,” Maung said.
He made the remark during a visit on Wednesday to the Rome headquarters of the Giuseppe Marra Communications (GMC) media group, where its Adnkronos International (AKI) news agency is located.
During his visit, Maung (photo) met GMC’s president and Knight of Labour, Giuseppe Marra. Maung also signalled that the Burmese opposition intends to take the military junta to the ICJ at the Hague.
“We have enough documents to prove that the junta made many Burmese do forced labour, a practice recognised as a crime against humanity by the International Labour Organisation,” Maung stated.
In Italy to attend a democracy conference on Wednesday and Thursday, Maung was also due on Friday to meet the European Union’s representative on Burma, Piero Fassino.
Maung on Tuesday gave a press conference to mark the launch of a new friendship association between Italian parliamentarians and Burma.