Sharon backs international condemnation of Burma Junta

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 6th Oct 2007

Sharon backs condemnation

As thousands of campaigners across the world demonstrate their support for the pro-democracy movement in Burma in A Day of International Action for a Free Burma, Sharon Bowles South East MEP and Liberal Democrat representative of the Parliament's ASEAN delegation has once again called for a stronger international effort to hold the Burmese government to account for its appalling human rights record.

Speaking today Sharon Bowles said "Burma must be held to account for its shocking response to the peaceful protests of the past few weeks.

"The latest atrocities are only the most recent examples of the repression of human rights that have taken place in Burma for the past two decades. The government must be brought to account for its appalling record."

This week the UN Human Rights Council's adopted a resolution condemning Burma's violent crackdown on democratic protests and urging an immediate investigation of the situation in the country.

The resolution, which was proposed by the EU bloc, "strongly deplores continued violent repression of peaceful demonstrators in Burma, including beatings, killings, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances." The EU had urged the council to "strongly condemn" the Burma government's repression, but the language was toned down in negotiations that involved China and India.

Sharon Bowles went on to say "China's threat of veto on the Security Council was another blow to a UN system often paralysed by power-play. The EU, rightly, has taken a global lead and ensured an international consensus deploring the acts of the brutal Burmese junta.

"This is the first time that the Human Rights Council has directly criticised a government, other that Israel. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come and we will soon see stronger resolutions from the Council - backed by real action from the international community - on other human rights hotspots, such as Sri Lanka."

ENDS