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Myanmar Delegation Escapes Arrest Warrant

By Thalif Deen

A behind-the-scenes attempt to obtain a magistrate's warrant to arrest the head of the Myanmar (Burma) delegation to the LDC conference failed at the eleventh hour due to a "technical hitch".

Action Birmanie, a Brussels-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) which is spearheading an intensive campaign against the military government in Myanmar, sought a warrant from a local magistrate last week to arrest the leader of the delegation as soon as he set foot on Belgian soil.

"But because of a technical problem we couldn't get the warrant," Gregor Chappelle, a lawyer for Action Birmanie, told TERRAVIVA yesterday.

"We don't want to say anything beyond that because we are going to try again and we want to make sure we don't fail the second time around," he said.

The leader of the delegation, U. Soe Tha, Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, was to be arrested on charges of "crimes against humanity".

Although he was not personally accused of such a crime, the charges were directed against the military government of which he is a key member.

Belgium has a three year old law which permits the arrest of anyone - even a head of state - accused of crimes against humanity if he or she happens to be on Belgian soil. That person could then be tried in a local court of law, Chappelle said.

The law is currently being tested as four Rwandans accused of genocide are being tried before a 10-member People's Court, the equivalent of a Grand Jury in the United States. The case has riveted the attention of Belgians and is being viewed as a test case for future such arrests.

The European Union (EU) has already excluded Myanmar from reaping the benefits of its 'Everything But Arms' (EBA) initiative under which all LDC imports, except military equipment, would be permitted duty- and quota-free access into the 15 EU countries.

Until and unless Myanmar restores multi-party democracy and ends human rights violations, the EU has said that its EBA concessions will not apply to any imports from the country, which was granted LDC status in 1987.

Burmese Presence Challenged

At a press conference yesterday, Glenys Kinnock, member of the European Parliament, challenged the participation of the Myanmar delegation at the LDC conference.

"We can understand the legality of granting visas under UN charter obligations," she said, "But Burma also has pressing and unfulfilled obligations on human rights, good governance and democracy."

She accused Myanmar of being the world's second largest producer of opium after Afghanistan, and a military regime that practices slave and child labour in defiance of international human rights laws.

Last week, the Belgian trade union federation FGTB (General Federation of Belgian Workers) wrote a letter to the Belgian Minister of Foreign Relations, Louis Michel, also challenging the presence of the Burmese delegation in Brussels. Interrogated in parliament about the fact that Belgium - via the German embassy in Rangoon - had issued visas to the delegation members, Michel explained last week that the visas are specific for participation in the UN conference.

He stressed also that the conference was only taking place on Belgian soil, but that the host was the European Union and noted that the UN, unlike the European Union, had no visa restrictions for members of the Burmese regime.

He added that he would take the opportunity to impress upon the Burmese delegation the EU's position on forced labour and human rights violations in Myanmar.

Senator Michiel Maertens of the Flemish Green Party (Agalev) told TERRAVIVA that he is unhappy with the fact that the authorities, by using arguments that might be legally sound, are offering the Burmese regime an opportunity to legitimise itself. "The Burmese regime ought to be completely isolated. The attendance of a minister from the Myanmar government to this conference is unacceptable."

Not legitimate rulers

Kinnock said the EU has to send a clear message that the military leaders are not the legitimate rulers of Burma.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) won the 1990 elections with about 80 percent of the votes. But not only were the elections nullified by the military regime, but NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi still remains under house arrest despite international appeals for her release.

Janek Kuczkiewicz of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU), said that sanctions imposed by the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO) preclude all UN member states from renewing economic relations with Burma if it aids and abets forced labour. "All proceeds from business dealings with Myanmar," he said, "goes directly to provide financial support to the military junta."

The four-member Myanmar delegation, which includes U. Soe Lin, director-general, foreign economic relations department, U. Kyee Myint, minister-counsellor, Embassy of Myanmar in London and Daw Lei Lei Thein, deputy director, Planning Department was not available for comment.

"Until democracy is restored, we should not have any dealings with Burmese military rulers," Kinnock said yesterday. "We want them to leave immediately after the conference," she added, "There is no question of shopping at Harrods in London."s