The European Union may ask China to pressure Myanmar’s military junta to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces five more years in detention after being held for 13 of the past 19 years, an EU commissioner said.
Suu Kyi, 63, went on trial two days ago, accused by the government of violating a house-arrest order for sheltering an American for two days. She was detained after her National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990, only to be denied power by the military in the country, formerly known as Burma.
The 27-nation EU, which outlaws weapons sales to Myanmar, curbs financing for its state-run companies and won’t allow junta leaders to visit Europe, wants Asian powers such as China and India to pressure Myanmar’s ruling generals to free Suu Kyi. EU officials may ask their Chinese counterparts including Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to use their influence with Myanmar’s junta when they meet to discuss EU-China ties today in Prague.
“We have to reinforce the dialogue with Burma’s neighbors,” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU’s external relations commissioner who will participate in the summit. “It should at least be always a discussion point with China, with India and with others.” The EU is divided over whether to expand sanctions against Myanmar’s military regime.
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