Easing Myanmar sanctions
February 17, 2012
The European Union lifted travel restrictions against Myanmar president Thein Sein and 86 other top officials and their families on Friday.
The bloc's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, held out the prospect of a further easing of sanctions, which target nearly a thousand firms and institutions with asset freezes, impose restrictions on hundreds of officials and include an arms embargo and investment bans.
"We have seen historic changes and we strongly encourage the authorities to continue this process," Ashton said in a statement.
She said EU governments are reviewing the bloc's sanctions policy towards Myanmar, which include an arms embargo, a ban on gems and an assets freeze, due to expire on April 30.
On Thursday, the World Bank said it was in the process of returning to Myanmar, underlining a growing acknowledgement in the West of the southeast Asian nation's efforts to emerge from decades of isolation.
The EU imposed sanctions after the bloody military crackdowns on a pro-democracy movement, whose figurehead is Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.
Last March, a civilian administration took office in the former Burma after decades of army rule. Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed and the new government appears eager to repair relations with the West.
db/ng (AFP, Reuters)