Written by U Ne Oo on 1996-10-18
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
October 18, 1996
Dr. U Ne Oo
48/2 Ayliffes Road
St Marys SA 5042
Australia
Dear Dr. U Ne Oo:
We appreciate your report We appreciate your report on Burma's refugee situation and letter to Secretary Christopher, which was forwarded to me for reply. We note your suggestion that a safety zone be created in Burma.
The United States, like the UNited Nations, has strongly criticized the human rights violations by the government and military in Burma. As you made reference to in your letter, this criticism has caused authorities in Burma to deny visitation to Burma by the UNHCR's Special Rapporteur. The United States is committed to taking an active role in the procese process of resolving this issue. We have worked hard to raise our concerns about Burma with other countries and have made progress in gaining agreement with several ASEAN countries to intervene privately with the Burmese junta to urge national reconciliation. We continue to urge international financial institutions not to provide support to Burma under current conditions. We maintain a range of unilateral sanctions and do not promote US Commercial investment in or trade with Burma. We refrain from selling arms to Burma and have nd have an informal agreement with our G-7 friends and allies to do the same.
Sincerely,
Sd. Kevin J. McGuire, Director
Office of Economic and Social Affairs
Bureau of International Organization Affairs
