§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether Britain or the European Union will try to persuade the government of Burma to stop the military offensive against the Karen people, which is causing thousands of people to flee across the border into Thailand, and to negotiate a political settlement with the Karen National Union, rather than "eliminate" them as threatened by Lieutenant-General Kyaw Ba, a member of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Committee.
§ Lord InglewoodTogether with our European Union Partners, we have consistently pressed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to work with Burma's democratic forces to achieve national reconciliation and democratic reform.
We are therefore very concerned about the recent offensive against the Karen people. Together with our EU partners we intend to put these concerns directly to the SLORC, again pressing for clarification of their commitment to a peaceful solution to the problem of Burma's ethnic groups.