Burma president calls on West to lift sanctions

He hinted that she could serve as a cabinet minister after the balance in
parliament changes. Miss Suu Kyi’s party is contest by-elections for 48
parliamentary seats, about one-tenth of parliament, after it was banned from
last year’s general election.

The Burmese leader made the most direct official plea for the removal of
sanctions yet seen. He said that allow the sanctions mainly consist of
targetted measures against leading figures, the burden was borne by ordinary
people. About a quarter of Burmese live in abject poverty, he said and
blamed sanctions for their predictament.

He said: “That is because for over 20 years sanctions were placed on our
country. Sanctions hurt the interest of our people. For that reason, there
were no job opportunities in our country. If you would like to see democracy
thrive in our country, you should take the necessary actions to encourage
this by easing the sanctions that were placed on our country.”

The 66-year old added however that the military, which has governed Burma
since a coup in 1962, would not withdraw from a powerful role in state
affairs.

He said: “We cannot leave the military behind because we require the
military’s participation in our country’s development.”

A spokesman for NLD Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, said it was too
early to ease sanctions pressure on the government. He played down
suggestions that Miss Suu Kyi could join the cabinet after the April
elections. “We acknowledge that reforms have been made in the country
and we welcome the reforms. However, we don’t consider the reforms complete
yet,” Nyan Win said.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes