Does this mean that Germany is going to resume official development cooperation with the new government in Burma?
A: It is the common position upheld by all EU member states, including Germany, that the time to resume fully fledged official development cooperation has not come yet. This is very costly for Myanmar and has tangible effects: According to UN statistics, Myanmar annually receives US $6 of economic assistance per capita, whereas neighboring Laos receives $60!
Q: In a phone call with Aung San Suu Kyi in March, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the release of political prisoners in Burma and on June 2, she urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to openly discuss Burma's human rights issues before allowing the country to take the bloc's chairmanship. Have you ever raised these issues with Burmese government officials in the country or made any public statement about them?
A: The release of political prisoners is an important political priority of the European Union and the German government. It has been and is being raised in our meetings with all our partners in Myanmar. These and other human rights questions are central issues taken up by the German government’s Human Rights Commissioner during his talks in Myanmar last week.
Q: There have been reports that you have actively argued in closed meetings that the EU should lift its sanctions against Burma. At the same time, Chancellor Merkel is urging the Burmese government to release political prisoners. Which do you think should occur first—the release of prisoners, or the withdrawal of sanctions?
A: As I said before, the release of political prisoners is an important political priority of the German government. With regard to the second part of your question, I would like to state once more: the time to lift more sanctions has not come yet. I regret however that public discussions about how to support the Myanmar people often underestimate the wide range of instruments available in the diplomatic and foreign policy toolbox. If you read the EU’s common position you will find that it does not only contain restrictions, but also encouragement, too.
Q: Leaked US diplomatic cables show that German officials, along with those of Spain and Italy, have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of EU sanctions against Burma. What role did Germany play in the EU's decision to ease sanctions in April?
A: As a matter of principle I don’t comment on leaked confidential cables. However, Germany has substantially supported the work on the most recent decision of the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU on the common position. It is a position supported unequivocally by all EU member states.
Q: The EU has imposed an arms embargo on Burma, as well as a limited ban on trade and investment, but this hasn't prevented German weapons manufacturer Fritz Werner from continuing to do business with the Burmese military. How does this work within the framework of EU sanctions? Can you tell us more about the nature and extent of these sanctions, and why you think they are too stringent?
A: To my best knowledge, the company Fritz Werner has no arms-related business in Myanmar. Anything else would not only violate the EU’s common position and be punishable accordingly, but harm as well the business and reputation of any European company considerably.
Q: Last year Al Jazeera reported that the German firm Deckel Maho Gildemeister (DMG) sent engineers to Burma to assist with the installation of specialized imported machinery in Burmese military-owned factories. Is it true, as the report claims, that German diplomats in Rangoon visited two of those factories in 2008 and 2009?
A: DMG has delivered education-related turning machines to Myanmar. The repeated visits of experts and officials give us no indication that these machines are not being used in accordance with their assigned purpose.
Q: During President Thein Sein's recent visit to China, Burma and China said that they had established a strategic relationship. What are Germany's views on the regional and international implications of China's growing influence in Burma?
A: Myanmar seems to strive for balanced relations with the region. This includes her relations with China as well.
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