Media release
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer
Thursday, 24 August 2000
FA96
Burma
Labor's Foreign Affairs spokesman has shown once again his embarrassing lack of knowledge of his Shadow portfolio.
His assertion today that Australia is the only country to engage with Burma is not only wrong, but shows his poor grasp of even the basics of the region.
Burma is an active member of ASEAN and other regional institutions. A number of countries, such as Japan, and some major European nations are all engaged with Burma through the provision of scholarships and the provision of training, including for Burmese government officials.
Furthermore, Australia's Ambassador to Burma does not oppose the Government's attempts to improve human rights in Burma.
There can be no argument about the extent of human rights abuses in Burma. The question is what to do to improve the situation.
Our approach to Burma arose from the repeated failure of other approaches to improve the political and human rights situation there.
The Human Rights training program has not only helped educate Burmese officials in basic human rights, but we have also contributed to Burma agreeing to establish an independent Human Rights Commission based on the Paris Principles, and using Indonesia's KOMNAS HAM as a model.
These are the only positive developments in human rights in Burma over the past decade.
Labor offers no solution. Their approach is to do nothing, and achieve nothing.
It is clear Labor is attempting to appease special interest groups instead of supporting constructive, practical solutions that will deliver long-term results.
Mr Brereton's constant hysterical and hyperbolic attacks on countries in our region give the lie to any Labor Party claims to being fully committed to engagement with Asia.
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