Myanmar junta must reach out to Suu Kyi: EU Parliament
(STRASBOURG) - The European Parliament called on Myanmar's military rulers on Thursday to hold talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and lift restrictions imposed on her following her release.
The parliament adopted a resolution welcoming Suu Kyi's release from house detention on November 13 but criticising the fact that it happened after the country's first elections in 20 years.
After being confined to her home for the better part of the last two decades, Suu Kyi's newfound freedom "could be interpreted as a first step in the right direction," the resolution said.
But the parliament expressed concern that "she is being kept under surveillance by the state security services."
Her freedom "must be unconditional and unrestricted," the resolution said.
The parliament "strongly urges the Burmese regime to enter into discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, as well as with representatives of the minority peoples," the text said
The Euro MPs also urged Myanmar's main trading partners, China, India, Russia and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to "stop supporting the undemocratic regime that thrives at the expense of its people and to exert more pressure for positive change in the country."
Suu Kyi swept her NLD to victory in 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power. Her party was disbanded after boycotting this month's poll, in response to rules that seemed designed to bar its leader from participating.
Further information, European Parliament: