EU asks India, China to stop supporting Myanmar junta

BRUSSELS - The European Union Parliament has asked China, India and Russia to stop supporting the junta regime in Myanmar and exert pressure on the government to bring positive change in the country.

The parliament Thursday adopted a resolution welcoming the recent release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi but expressed concern about her safety, saying that her freshly regained freedom must be “unconditional” and “unrestricted”, EuAsiaNews reported.

Suu Kyi, 65, was released Nov 13 on the completion of an 18-month house arrest, which was added to a previous term of six years.

The resolution called on the EU’s 27 member states to use economic and political influence to bring about freedom and democracy in Myanmar, but urged them to continue to provide funding for refugees on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Commenting on the Nov 7 elections in Myanmar, the parliament said they were conducted “in a climate of fear, intimidation and resignation, with hundreds of thousands of Burmese (Myanmarese) citizens, monks and political prisoners being banned from voting”.

It also called for the immediate release of up to 2,200 political prisoners.