ID :
13422
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 23:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/13422
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Japan pledges $21 mil. fresh aid to Myanmar, urges democratization
SINGAPORE, July 22 Kyodo - Japan pledged Tuesday to give an additional $21 million in reconstruction aid to cyclone-hit Myanmar, but Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura also urged in talks with his counterpart Nyan Win that the junta move forward withdemocratization, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Komura stressed the need for the Myanmar government to involve all stakeholders in the political process and immediately release political detainees, including pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The talks in Singapore came on the heels of a joint communique by ASEAN foreign ministers on Monday that urged Myanmar to free all political detainees and explicitly named Suu Kyi for the first time since 2003.
Meeting on the sidelines of a series of ASEAN-hosted ministerial talks, Komura also repeated calls for the junta to open access for foreign aid personnel to assist in reconstruction efforts after the cyclone in May and to improve transparency for aid received.
Meanwhile, Nyan Win was quoted by the official as saying Myanmar is not discriminating against foreign assistance personnel and criticized ''some countries of the Western camp'' for ''unreasonably trying to link humanitarian aid with politics.''The freshly pledged aid from Japan will mainly focus on assistance for recovery of agricultural activities and education, such as building elementary schools, in the aftermath of the devastating cyclone, the official said.
It brings Japan's total pledge of cyclone-related aid to Myanmar to about $33 million.
Komura pressed for a thorough investigation into the September shooting death of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai in Yangon and repeated Japan's demand that Nagai's video camera and other belongings be returned.
Japan and Myanmar remain far apart over the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Nagai as he was filming the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon in September. Myanmar insists he was shot by a stray bullet and not from close range, as Japan claims.
Myanmar has repeatedly said that while the death was regrettable, the incident was ''accidental.'' Nyan Win was quoted as saying Tuesday he will continue to do his best on the issue while noting the case is not under his ministry's jurisdiction.
Regarding Myanmar's political situation, Komura expressed concern that the junta's dialogue with Suu Kyi has recently stalled and that she remains under house arrest, the official said.
The Myanmar minister defended his government by citing the cyclone devastation and preparations for a constitutional referendum and said the dialogue will resume ''at the appropriate time.''He also said his government shares the same goal as the international community of making Myanmar a democratic country and criticized ''some countries'' for attempting to obstruct its efforts, according to the official.
Nyan Win welcomed a statement by the Group of Eight nations that they are prepared to respond positively if Myanmar makes substantive political progress. But Komura reminded him that it must be progress that convinces the international community, the official said.
The Myanmar issue was also taken up in bilateral talks between Komura and Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo in the afternoon, with both ministers agreeing on the need to continue pressing for the nation's democratization process and to support reconstruction in the aftermath of the cyclone, another Japanese official said.
On Monday, Nyan Win said Suu Kyi's detention will expire toward the end of next year and that his fellow ASEAN ministers had earlier misunderstood that she could actually be released in six months, according to the Singaporean minister.
Yeo had told reporters Sunday that Nyan Win indicated to other ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations over a working dinner that his government could release Suu Kyi in about six months' time.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 1990 general election by a landslide but the junta refused to honor the results. Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
Komura stressed the need for the Myanmar government to involve all stakeholders in the political process and immediately release political detainees, including pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The talks in Singapore came on the heels of a joint communique by ASEAN foreign ministers on Monday that urged Myanmar to free all political detainees and explicitly named Suu Kyi for the first time since 2003.
Meeting on the sidelines of a series of ASEAN-hosted ministerial talks, Komura also repeated calls for the junta to open access for foreign aid personnel to assist in reconstruction efforts after the cyclone in May and to improve transparency for aid received.
Meanwhile, Nyan Win was quoted by the official as saying Myanmar is not discriminating against foreign assistance personnel and criticized ''some countries of the Western camp'' for ''unreasonably trying to link humanitarian aid with politics.''The freshly pledged aid from Japan will mainly focus on assistance for recovery of agricultural activities and education, such as building elementary schools, in the aftermath of the devastating cyclone, the official said.
It brings Japan's total pledge of cyclone-related aid to Myanmar to about $33 million.
Komura pressed for a thorough investigation into the September shooting death of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai in Yangon and repeated Japan's demand that Nagai's video camera and other belongings be returned.
Japan and Myanmar remain far apart over the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Nagai as he was filming the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon in September. Myanmar insists he was shot by a stray bullet and not from close range, as Japan claims.
Myanmar has repeatedly said that while the death was regrettable, the incident was ''accidental.'' Nyan Win was quoted as saying Tuesday he will continue to do his best on the issue while noting the case is not under his ministry's jurisdiction.
Regarding Myanmar's political situation, Komura expressed concern that the junta's dialogue with Suu Kyi has recently stalled and that she remains under house arrest, the official said.
The Myanmar minister defended his government by citing the cyclone devastation and preparations for a constitutional referendum and said the dialogue will resume ''at the appropriate time.''He also said his government shares the same goal as the international community of making Myanmar a democratic country and criticized ''some countries'' for attempting to obstruct its efforts, according to the official.
Nyan Win welcomed a statement by the Group of Eight nations that they are prepared to respond positively if Myanmar makes substantive political progress. But Komura reminded him that it must be progress that convinces the international community, the official said.
The Myanmar issue was also taken up in bilateral talks between Komura and Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo in the afternoon, with both ministers agreeing on the need to continue pressing for the nation's democratization process and to support reconstruction in the aftermath of the cyclone, another Japanese official said.
On Monday, Nyan Win said Suu Kyi's detention will expire toward the end of next year and that his fellow ASEAN ministers had earlier misunderstood that she could actually be released in six months, according to the Singaporean minister.
Yeo had told reporters Sunday that Nyan Win indicated to other ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations over a working dinner that his government could release Suu Kyi in about six months' time.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 1990 general election by a landslide but the junta refused to honor the results. Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 12 of the past 18 years.
