U Bo Hla Tint, a spokesperson of the Burmese exile government -- the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) -- was appreciative of U-N Human Rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro's latest visit to Burma --his fourth so far. However, he said he begs to differ with some of the UN official's statements.
In particular, U Bo Hla Tint expressed his reservation with regard to a favorable opinion of Mr. Pinheiro on the Australian government-run human rights workshops in Burma. Citing Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's remarks that these workshops are not effective enough to stop human rights violations, U Bo Hla Tint said the program was simply a waste of time, realistically speaking.
The U-N human rights expert made a plea to the international community to consider helping Burma with aid and expertise instead of pursuing continued sanctions on the military-ruled country. The exile Burmese government spokesperson argued that it was the failure of the ruling military to comply with universal human rights norms and civil society practices that it brought sanctions upon itself. In view of the fact that such violations persist, U Bo Hla Tint said it is only fair to maintain sanctions against Burma.