NEW YORK—General Thein Sein, head of Burma’s military junta, railed against the West for continuing to impose economic sanctions on Burma in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.
Ruled by an authoritarian military regime, Burma (or Myanmar) is widely considered one of the worst human rights violators in the world.
A U.S. state department human rights report published in February of this year states that “government security forces allowed custodial deaths to occur and committed other extrajudicial killings, disappearances, rape, and torture.”
Sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the European Union (EU) for over a decade, including a ban on arms sales, restrictions on trade, and freezing the junta’s assets.
In a speech generally critical of the West, the general especially targeted economic sanctions imposed on Burma, saying they have “no moral basis” and “interfere in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the country.”
China and Russia are two of Burma’s principal weapon suppliers, according to Amnesty International. The two have also backed Burma as a trading partner in the U.N. In 2007, for example, China and Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution which called on the junta to cease military attacks against civilians.
Leader of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the general parliamentary election in 1990, has been under house arrest for 14 years. On Aug. 11 of this year, the Noble Peace Prize laureate’s sentence was prolonged by 18 months for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest after an American made an unnannounced visit to her lakeside home.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi “a serious setback to the prospects of genuine national reconciliation” in a report published last week.
He also told South-East Asian foreign ministers on Saturday that they have an important role to play in helping free political prisoners and creating conditions for fair elections in Burma.
General Sein is the highest Burmese leader in 14 years to attend a U.N. meeting.
Ruled by an authoritarian military regime, Burma (or Myanmar) is widely considered one of the worst human rights violators in the world.
A U.S. state department human rights report published in February of this year states that “government security forces allowed custodial deaths to occur and committed other extrajudicial killings, disappearances, rape, and torture.”
Sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the European Union (EU) for over a decade, including a ban on arms sales, restrictions on trade, and freezing the junta’s assets.
In a speech generally critical of the West, the general especially targeted economic sanctions imposed on Burma, saying they have “no moral basis” and “interfere in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the country.”
China and Russia are two of Burma’s principal weapon suppliers, according to Amnesty International. The two have also backed Burma as a trading partner in the U.N. In 2007, for example, China and Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution which called on the junta to cease military attacks against civilians.
Leader of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the general parliamentary election in 1990, has been under house arrest for 14 years. On Aug. 11 of this year, the Noble Peace Prize laureate’s sentence was prolonged by 18 months for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest after an American made an unnannounced visit to her lakeside home.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi “a serious setback to the prospects of genuine national reconciliation” in a report published last week.
He also told South-East Asian foreign ministers on Saturday that they have an important role to play in helping free political prisoners and creating conditions for fair elections in Burma.
General Sein is the highest Burmese leader in 14 years to attend a U.N. meeting.
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