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Chen decries atrocities in Myanmar

Protesters carry a picture of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi during an anti-violence demonstration in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: WALLY SANTANA, AP

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) condemned the Myanmar junta yesterday for its violent crackdown on demonstrators in Yangon.

"We've all witnessed Myanmar's bloody oppression of its people on TV. On behalf of the Taiwanese government I condemn and regret the actions of the Myanmar junta against democracy, human rights and humanity," Chen said.

He called on democracies to interfere proactively in the protests in Myanmar to "bring freedom, democracy and peace to its people."

"Any force, violence or non-peaceful measures should not be allowed in any civilization, regardless of whether they are taken against internal [demonstrations] or to threaten other countries," he said while addressing foreign diplomats and representatives at a party celebrating the Democratic Progressive Party's 21st anniversary in Taipei yesterday.

Chen also called on the international community to "face China's authoritarian nature and its notorious human rights record," adding that the world should pay close attention to China's threats and oppression of Taiwan.

In Washington, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Thursday that the worsening political crisis in Myanmar could put more pressure on Taiwan-US relations, as Washington is faced with another international issue in which it needs the cooperation of China, Myanmar's closest ally, in efforts to resolve the crisis.

Wu made the comment in answer to a question by the Taipei Times as Congress was putting pressure on US President George W. Bush and his administration to do something about the situation in Myanmar.

"There is a possibility that it would put a bit more pressure on Taiwan, just like when the United States needed China's help in North Korea and Iraq. And that would give China leverage in other grounds as well," Wu said.

"If you look at the junta's behavior yesterday [where its forces are believed to have killed protesters], it was very similar to what the Chinese government went through in 1989," Wu said, in a reference to Beijing's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

"It was the younger brother learning from the bigger brother," Wu said.

"I think what the United States needs to do is pressure China to pressure Burma in order for the Burmese to have an opportunity to establish their own government," he said. Washington "needs to apply pressure on the Chinese government to stop supporting the junta."

The issue gained momentum in Washington after China on Wednesday blocked an effort by the US and Europe to have the UN Security Council condemn Myanmar's violent crackdown on protesters.

US news reports said that Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya (王光亞) told a closed-door meeting that the Myanmar conflict was a domestic issue that had to be settled by the people of the country.

The US expressed disappointment with Beijing's position.

While Bush has refrained from criticizing Beijing directly, he made a statement on Thursday repeating his call for all countries to oppose the Myanmar military junta.

"Every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a brutal military regime like the one that has ruled Burma for so long," a White House release quoted Bush as saying.

"I call on all nations that have influence with the Burmese regime to join us in supporting the aspirations of the Burmese people and to tell the Burmese Junta to cease using force on its own people who are peacefully expressing their desire for change," he said.

BOYCOTT

In her daily press briefing on Thursday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino dodged a question about whether the US should consider boycotting the Beijing Olympics next summer to punish Beijing for supporting the Myanmar junta.

Bush has said that next year's Olympic Games would be a time "when the world is watching," Perino said.

China is "excited about the Olympics, but this is a time when, as [Bush] said to [Chinese] President Hu [Jintao] (胡錦濤), the world is going to be watching ... This would be one of them," Perino said.

On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee added to the pressure on Bush, unanimously approving a resolution calling on China and other allies of Myanmar to use their influence to get the junta to release freedom activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

`RECONCILIATION'

The committee also called for an end to attacks on minorities and for the beginning of "a meaningful process of genuine national reconciliation."

This was part of a broader resolution that urged the Bush administration to push for national reconciliation in Myanmar and for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Later in the day on Wednesday, US Democratic Senator John Kerry called on the Bush administration to "engage in strenuous diplomacy with Beijing, which carries the most sway with Burma's generals, and urge the Chinese to press for reform."

Referring to the upcoming Olympics in a speech on the Senate floor, Kerry said: "Beijing can host the 2008 Olympics as an enabler of cruelty and repression, or it can do so as a responsible stakeholder in the world community."

Also see stories:
Editorial: China is accountable for Myanmar
International community must act in Burma
ASEAN issues Myanmar declaration
US imposes sanctions on junta officials

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