Estonia Condemns House Arrest Sentence for Opposition Leader in Burma/Myanmar
14.08.2009
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet has stated that Estonia condemns the unjustified trial and the conviction announced on 11 August that placed Burma/Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung Suu Kyi under 18 months of house arrest.
“The conviction of Daw Aung Suu Kyi is a blow to Burma/Myanmar’s national reconciliation process, and excluding the opposition leader from the 2010 elections places the transparency and credibility of the elections under serious suspicion,” emphasised Foreign Minister Urmas Paet.
“We call upon the government of Burma/Myanmar to immediately free Daw Aung Suu Kyi and the rest of the political prisoners and to honour the human rights and basic freedoms of its citizens,” said Foreign Minister Urmas Paet.
Estonia calls upon Burma/Myanmar’s military regime to begin an inclusive and constructive dialogue with the democratic opposition and representatives of ethnic minorities.
In a statement issued on behalf of all the European Union member states on Thursday, the EU presidency Sweden stated that the European Union will respond by implementing additional restrictive measures with the military government of Burma/Myanmar, including expanding the list of individuals that are forbidden to enter the European Union and the freezing of assets. The European Union will also make harsher economic sanctions against the government of Burma/Myanmar.
