EU ministers lift Burma visa bans

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23 January 2012 Last updated at 12:50 GMT As reforms have gathered pace, Burma's President Thein Sein has met with several foreign dignitaries European foreign ministers have agreed to suspend visa bans on leading politicians in Burma, including the president and cabinet members.

EU ministers meeting in Brussels said the move followed Burma's "remarkable programme of political reform".

A statement said further reforms would lead to a further easing of sanctions.

Burma is due to hold by-elections in April which will be contested for the first time by the opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reforms in Burma have been gathering pace in recent months. In mid-January, the government released a series of high-profile political dissidents from prison in an amnesty.

Those freed include veterans of the 1988 student protest movement, monks involved in the 2007 demonstrations and ethnic-minority activists.

The military-backed civilian government came to power in November 2010, after the country's first elections in 20 years. Before that Burma was governed by a military junta.

The new government freed Ms Suu Kyi and began dialogue with her and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

'Improved relations'

The EU statement said visa bans would be suspended for Burma's President Thein Sein, vice-presidents, cabinet members and parliamentary speakers.

"The Council welcomes the remarkable programme of political reform undertaken by the government and parliament," a statement said.

Continue reading the main story 7 Nov 2010: First polls in 20 years13 Nov: Aung San Suu Kyi freed from house arrest30 Mar 2011: Transfer of power to new government complete 19 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi meets Burmese President Thein Sein12 Oct: More than 200 political prisoners freed13 Oct: New labour laws allowing unions passed17 Nov: Burma granted Asean chair in 201423 Dec: NLD registers as political party12 Jan: Karen ceasefire signed13 Jan: Highest-profile political prisoners freedIt added that the reform process had already led to improved relations with the EU and if such reforms continued, then restrictions could further be eased by the end of April.

"These changes are opening up important new prospects for developing the relationship between the European Union and Burma/Myanmar," the statement said.

The US has also begun the process of thawing diplomatic relations saying that it will start the process of exchanging ambassadors with Burma.

Although Western nations have welcomed the reform process, they have also called on the government to release all political prisoners and resolve ethnic conflicts in border regions.

And Burmese exiles and campaign groups say the real test will be how much freedom released prisoners will have to continue their activities.

Burma remains the subject of economic sanctions from the European Union, the United States and Canada, among others. Of the major economies, only China, India and South Korea have invested in the country.

But Western leaders have said they will match progress towards democracy in Burma with concessions and political incentives.

Source BBC

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Peres defends Abbas after Israeli foreign minister's attack

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Israel's President Shimon Peres (L) meets actor Jason Alexander at the president's residence in Jerusalem October 25, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

JERUSALEM | Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:09pm EDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres came to the defense of Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday after Israel's far-right foreign minister called the Palestinian president an obstacle to peace.

"Abbas and (Palestinian) Prime Minister (Salam) Fayyad are serious leaders that want peace and are working to prevent violence and extremism in our region," said Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

"We must continue to negotiate peace with them in order to achieve full peace that will end this long conflict," he said in public remarks during a meeting with "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander, a member of "One Voice," an international movement promoting a two-state solution.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads an ultranationalist party in the governing coalition, said in a briefing to reporters on Monday that Abbas was blocking any progress toward peace.

"If there is an obstacle that could be removed it's Abu Mazen," he said, referring to Abbas and calling on him to resign.

"He threatens he will hand back the keys," Lieberman said, referring to the Western-backed Abbas's warnings in the past that he would quit unless a statehood deal could be achieved. "It's not a threat, it's a blessing."

There was no indication that Lieberman's fiery remarks reflected any change in Israeli government policy, and they elicited no response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has called on Abbas to resume negotiations, which collapsed 13 months ago in a dispute over Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and abandon a unilateral bid for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state.

Lieberman's remarks drew Palestinian anger and condemnation by a spokesman for U.N. Middle East envoy Robert Serry, and from European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, on the eve of a new push by international mediators for renewed talks.

Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for Ashton, said on Tuesday Lieberman's remarks were "regrettably not helpful to create the environment of trust conducive to negotiations."

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine Radio, "we consider this tantamount to a call for the physical assassination of (Abbas)."

"This is criminal incitement. We called the American administration, we sat with our friends in the Russian Federation and the European Union," Erekat said.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were due to meet separately in Jerusalem on Wednesday with representatives of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

Expectations were low in Israel and the Palestinian Territories that the indirect talks could lead to a resumption of face-to-face negotiations between the two sides.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher Ilan in Jerusalem, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels and Tom Perry in Ramallah)

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Ministers mull £5bn economy boost

  George Osborne has ruled out any back-tracking on the government plans Ministers are discussing how to inject up to £5bn into the economy without abandoning their deficit reduction strategy, the BBC understands.
Some Cabinet members believe Chancellor George Osborne could raise capital spending on infrastructure, BBC political editor Nick Robinson says.
The government has faced calls for a "Plan B" on the economy amid flagging growth and rising unemployment.
The Treasury previously said any change in strategy would risk its credibility.
The news emerged as the International Monetary Fund said world leaders must take strong action to prevent the risk of a double-dip recession.
'Rock of stability'
The BBC understands a debate is under way at the top of government about what more can be done to boost economic growth without being seen to back away from the coalition's tough deficit reduction target - which Mr Osborne has called the UK's "rock of stability".
Continue reading the main story

We are straining every sinew to find new things that government can do to support growth”

End Quote Danny Alexander Chief Secretary to the Treasury Some ministers believe as much as £5bn in extra capital spending, on top of what was announced in March's Budget, could be channelled towards the nation's roads, rail and broadband internet.
The government has already promised to speed up major public works projects and publish an infrastructure plan by the end of the year - but business groups have urged it to go further.
The government has always rejected Labour's calls for an economic "Plan B".
But Nick Robinson said ministers believed the £5bn capital boost would not represent a U-turn since the Treasury's fiscal targets were based around current spending rather than capital expenditure.
The news comes on the eve of deputy prime minister Nick Clegg's leader's speech to the Liberal Democrat autumn conference, expected to be dominated by the worsening economic situation.
'Wake-up call'
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has insisted that the government will not waver from its objective of eliminating the deficit within the lifetime of the Parliament.
"We are straining every sinew to find new things that government can do to support growth, to help private sector businesses to lead the economic recovery," he said.
"But of course a key part of that is to retain the credibility that we've built up as a country by sticking to the deficit reduction plan that this coalition put in place when we first came into office."
But Labour has said ministers must heed the IMF's warning.
"Our chancellor and political leaders in Europe need to wake up to the scale of the problem and finally realise that we need economic growth and more people in work to really get deficits down," shadow chancellor Ed Balls said.

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