– EU has to maintain it`s sanctions on Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi said today in a telephone conversation with Kjell Magne Bondevik, the president of the Oslo Center.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of finance Kenyatta and suspended Minister of education Ruto are suspected to be behind the violent riots after the election in 2007.
Several independent sources have documented persistent and systematic abuses of the civil population in Burma in the recent years. Last week it was made known that the U.S. supports the proposal from the UN Special Rapporteur to set up a commission to investigate whether the abuses in Burma can be categorised as war crimes.
The new constitution could, and should, be a turning point for Kenya, says the president of the Oslocenter, Kjell Magne Bondevik.
The Oslo Center’s new strategy aims at sharpening the work of the Center over the next three years.
Religious leaders from Europe gave their full support to the process of developing a universal code on holy sites during the annual meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL) in Istanbul 28th of April.
The upcoming election in Burma was discussed at a seminar in Oslo on the 26th of April. “We are in a critical phase in Burma’s history. The Burmese people are invited to vote in an election for the first time since 1990. But we must be realistic. The election is based on ground rules that favour the military junta, and will thus not be free and fair”, said Kjell Magne Bondevik in his introduction. The seminar was organized by the Oslo Center, in cooperation with Norwegian Church Aid, the Norwegian Baptist Society and the Norwegian Burma Committee.
With the current constitution and the election laws, and the militarization that characterizes the eastern parts of the country, the elections in Burma will not be free, fair or credible. While the upcoming elections now seem to be the main preoccupation of the generals in Burma the international community is fumbling.
“If the international community really wants Somalia’s transitional government to be successful they must support the weak coalition government to a far greater degree. After spending several days with seven ministers from the Somali, we clearly see how important it is that not only non-governmental organizations working in the area receive more support, but also the government”, says the special advisor at the Oslo Center, Øistein Mjærum.
Kjell Magne Bondevik says today’s news reports about Aung San Suu Kyis possible release in November, is part of the propaganda strategy of the Burmese junta.