ATHENS SUPPORTS NON-BURMANS
(Cited from Shan Herald Agency for News, March 23, 2003)

Greece is very supportive of Burma's ethnic position, according to Shan and Karen who just returned from their lobbying trip yesterday.

"The peculiar thing about the Director-General of Asia-Oceania and Minister Plenipotentiary was that she really cared about ethnic genocide for she told us that democracy could wait but the genocide had to stop immediately, other wise it could be too late," reported Wansai, General Secretary of the Shan Democratic Union, referring to the two-and-a-half-hour meeting with her "to push for harder sanctions" against Burma's military rulers.

The two Representatives of Shan and Karen also met the ruling Pasok Party and the opposition New Democracy Party, both of whom had assured "they have no problem to support our appeal". The team also visited Hellenic Aid, a department under the foreign ministry, that "is keen to help us." Wansai and Saw Sarky, the Karen representative, were there to brief and update on the political developments in Burma, to seek recognition for Burma's democratization through the Tripartite Dialogue process, to critically review Rangoon's anti-drugs position and heighten the European Union's existing sanctions as a means to support change in Burma, according to the report.

"The overall situation has returned to square one," reads their appeal, as could be seen by more arrests of opposition members, refusal to release 1,400 or so political prisoners as promised, discrediting and personality attacks of Aung San Suu Kyi, refusal to recognize the United Nationalities Alliance of the ethnic-based parties and rejection of the offer of five remaining military opposition alliance to negotiate.

"We should be aware that Burma is like an under-siege house, infested with dead, wounded and sick people. The perpetrators are in the vicinity with smoky guns and bloodstained knives in their hands and still threatening their victims.

In such a situation, it would be more sensible and appropriate to remove the perpetrators first and attend to the sick and wounded later. While the desire to help the downtrodden and sick people is a noble task, the inability to disarm or contain the murderers from harming the already devastated victims is clearly frustrating. Insisting to cure and look after the victims without removing the perpetrators could be like putting the cart in front of the horse." it declares.