Kelly Graham: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kelly Graham: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6544] 
1. GRAHAM KELLY (NZ Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
: What actions has he taken to protest at the arrest of Aung San SuuKyi by Myanmar’s military Government? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: 
 Last week I joinedMinisters from other countries at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnom Penh in condemning the actions of the military Government in Myanmar and demanding the release of Aung San SuuKyi. I also met directly Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung. I rejected his explanation that Aung San SuuKyi was being held for her own safety especially since the attack launched on her convoy on 30 May appears to have been orchestrated by the regime itself. I called not only for her immediate release but also for the release of an estimated 1200 other political prisoners held by the military regime. 
Graham Kelly 
: Does New Zealand provide development assistance aid to Myanmar and would that be withheld to place pressure on the regime? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: New Zealand has not developed a bilateral aid programme with Myanmar despite extensive poverty in that country because of the nature of the military regime. Some assistance however is provided multilaterally through ASEAN programmes and also directly to non-governmental organisations. But I indicated to Myanmar’s Foreign Minister that New Zealand would not engage more extensively with development assistance without clear progress towards the restoration of democracy of which at present there is no evidence. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: What actions has he taken to protest the genocide of the Karen people by Myanmar’s military Government? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: This Government has consistently opposed all human rights abuses by the military regime against particular minority groups but also of coursethe suspension of the democratic process and then the refusal over 13 years to recognise the democratic election result which would have seen Aung San SuuKyi as Prime Minister. 
Keith Locke 
: Will the Government be backing the strong actions by the United States against the Burmese regime and join it in implementing strong sanctions including denying visas to members of the regime freezing their financial assets opposing loans to the regime banning investments in Burma and remittances to leaders of the Burmese regime and limiting trade with Burma? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: Normally before New Zealand institutes sanctions it must have a UN mandate for doing so. That does not however stop us from informally implementing smart sanctions against the regime and I can assure the member given that visas are required for people to come here no member of that military regime will be given a visa to come to New Zealand. In terms of the US sanctions they are more wide ranging in the sanctions against trade than New Zealand would normally impose against other countries. What we want to do is to hurt the people responsible for the oppression of individuals in Myanmar not hurt the general population itself. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Where is the consistency between the position he has outlined to the House this afternoon of not favouring an extension of multilateral assistance to Myanmar while an anti-democratic Government remains in power while on the other hand with regard to the Tongan Government’s moves to repress free speech in that country he has in this House consistently ruled out using the aid weapon he now appears to favour in respect of Myanmar? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: Firstly the member has got it wrong. I said we were providing some multilateral programmes but not a bilateral programme. I do not think there is any comparison with Tonga which does things that we do not approve of and has a system that is not fully democratic and Myanmar where 1200 people are political prisoners and people have been murdered and denied basic human rights. I think one targets one’s sanctions and one’s level of sanctions towards the nature of the regime one is trying to deal with.