THE government has urged the United States to abandon attempts to destabilise Myanmar and to help the country as a “partner” in its democratisation process.

The call was made after a resolution calling for the renewal of an import ban imposed on Myanmar last July was presented to the US Senate on April 29.
One of the 16 sponsors of the resolution is Senator Mitch Mc-Connell, who sponsored the legislation last July under which the import ban was applied.

The legislation broadened sanctions which the US introduced in 1997 and included a ban on new US investment in Myanmar.

The Bush administration is expected to extend the seven-year-old sanctions this month for another 12 months.

In a statement released on May 2, the government said sanctions did not help to build a strong middle class which was “essential in establishing proper institutions in the development of a sustainable democracy”.

“Sanctions delay or even derail the proper evolution to a democracy,” said the statement.

It criticised Senator McConnell, saying he did not “seem to understand or refuses to acknowledge the reality [of] a steady and proper evolution [towards democracy] taking place in Myanmar”.

The statement said the use of sanctions by the US was tantamount to perpetrating human rights abuses against the people of Myanmar.

“The US still seems to believe that sanctions, invasion and occupation are solutions to all the problems the world is facing today,” said the statement, which made an apparent reference to the controversy over reports that US troops in Iraq had violated the human rights of prisoners.

“We all are extremely shocked and saddened to learn about recent violations of human rights of prisoners in the Middle East …,” it said.

The statement urged the US to abide by the Convention on Human Rights and to adopt a policy of fairness, responsibility and accuracy when reporting on human rights issues in other countries.

“The common agenda of peace, development and freedom for all the peoples of the world can only be achieved by being sincere, honest and accurate,” the statement said.

“The government of Myanmar therefore urges the United States to abandon its misguided attempts to destabilise Myanmar and encourages Washington to join with us and our regional partners in developing a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Myanmar.”

The statement said such an approach would be better than promoting “poverty, instability, drugs and armed conflicts as the result of imposing sanctions, invasion or occupation”.