[Note: Neither Aung San Suu Kyi or the international Burma support movement have yet called for a lifting of sanctions (see http://www.freeburmacoalition.org/)

06 May 02 12:22 East Timor: Applauding Suu Kyi's Release, Dili Urges End to Burma Sanctions

East Timor´s foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, hailed the release of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Monday and urged the end of international sanctions against that country´s military regime.

Calling Suu Kyi a "friend and colleague", Ramos Horta said her release from 19 months of house arrest in Rangoon signaled "great possibilities for real change" in Burma, whose military rulers renamed Myanmar.

"The international community must take positive steps to encourage these changes", he said in a statement sent to Lusa in Dili, urging the lifting of sanctions and foreign investment to help create a "stable social environment".

Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her pro-democracy campaigning, an honor she shared with Ramos Horta and Dili´s Catholic bishop, Carlos Ximenes Belo, in 1996 for their pro-independence efforts in East Timor.

Rangoon recently expressed its opposition to Dili´s bid for membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations because of its support for the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

SAS/ASP -Lusa-

© 1997 Lusa Comentários e Sugestões para Agência Lusa

Back to May menu
April
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu