The European Union will tighten sanctions against Burma (Myanmar) next week after it failed to release democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi and recognise her National League for Democracy Party (NLD), the EU has said today.
Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi has spent more than half of the past 15 years under house arrest. Her party won elections by a landslide in 1990 but the military ignored the result and locked up many of her supporters.
"Today, Oct. 7, these conditions have not been met. As a result the EU will, at a meeting on Oct. 11, impose stricter sanctions on the regime in Myanmar ," Dutch foreign minister Mr Ben Bot said in a statement.
The Netherlands holds the rotating presidency of the 25-member-state EU. Mr Bot is attending an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Vietnam at which developments in Myanmar are likely to dominate. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is also at the summit in Hanoi.
The EU will expand its visa ban, prohibit EU-registered countries from financing state-owned companies in Burma and vote against international organisations extending loans to the country.