EU may ease sanctions on burma in April
The European Union looks set to ease some sanctions on Burma in April if Sunday’s byelections go smoothly, but the EU trade commissioner said the bloc would not rush to lift key trade curbs.
The EU already removed a travel ban on certain Burma officials earlier in 2012 to encourage reform efforts after decades of military rule.
Further restrictions, which trade commissioner Karel De Gucht described as political sanctions mostly “aimed towards individuals”, could be eased when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels on April 23.
“I would argue that if the elections are fair and free, then Burma has a case and that the Foreign Affairs Council should really seriously consider making an important gesture,” he said.
The lifting of such sanctions “can even happen with immediate effect”, said the Belgian, who was in town for a business summit.
But Mr De Gucht stressed it would take more than a successful vote on April 1 for the EU to end key economic sanctions. Remo-ving these measures could pave the way for Burma to take advantage of preferential trade agreements, including the “everything but arms” deal that allows products from the least developed countries to enter the EU duty free and tariff free. He said the EU would propose lifting such bans only after the International Labour Organisation on forced labour in Burma.
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China websites shut, 6 held for coup rumours
Beijing, March 31: China has shut down websites, made a string of arrests and punished two popular microblogs after rumours of a coup linked to a major scandal that brought down a top politician.
Authorities closed 16 websites for spreading rumours of “military vehicles entering Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing”, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the state Internet information office.
The Te police arrested six people, while the country’s two most popular mic-roblogs, run by Sina.com and Tencent, said they would stop users from posting comments to other people’s posts until Tuesday.
The crackdown follows a surge in unsubstantiated online rumours about a coup led by security chief Zhou Yongkang, following the March dismissal of rising political star Bo Xilai.
Analysts say the political drama has exposed divisions in the ruling Co-mmunist Party as it prepares for a key leadership transition later in 2012.
Bo Xilai, removed as party chief of the south-western metropolis of Chongqing after his former police chief fled to a United States consulate and reportedly demanded political asylum, had been tipped to join the country’s top echelons of power.
— AFP
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