JAPAN: Japan will cut aid to Myanmar after the military junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests

Record ID: 463724

  • Title: JAPAN: Japan will cut aid to Myanmar after the military junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests
  • Date: 16th October 2007
  • Summary: (BN02) MANDALAY, MYANMAR (RECENT) (REUTERS - NO ACCESS ISRAEL) AERIAL VIEWS OF MANDALAY PRISON
  • Embargoed: 31st October 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAD6TMLWTDR1NSNGU9Q5ZH8UYD7
  • Story Text: Japan decides to freeze $4.7 million in aid to Myanmar after the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protests by the military junta.
    Japan will halt 552 million yen ($4.7 million) in aid to Myanmar following the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in which a Japanese video journalist was killed on Tuesday (October 16).
    The canceled grant aid had been intended to fund a human resources centre.
    "Though we had been in negotiations with the Myanmar government about a grant aid of maximum 552 million yen for the construction of a Japan-Myanmar centre on the exchange of notes, we decided not to sign this agreement. This might be a very small step, but we will continue to urge the Myanmar government to listen to the voice of the international community and work on democratisation," Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, said at a regular morning news conference.
    Japan has withheld new aid to impoverished Myanmar since democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, but it has funded emergency health projects and provided some training and technological transfers.
    The U.N. Security Council last week issued a statement deploring the crackdown and calling for a "genuine dialogue" with opposition leaders.
    The Japan government was unwilling to stop support for health programmes because it would have an immediate effect on Myanmar's people.
    Japan has provided a total of about 3 billion yen ($26 million) in aid annually in recent years, compared with 10 billion yen in 2001.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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