Southeast-Asian Dream..With Myanmar

[nin@xxxxxx]

Subject: Southeast-Asian Dream..With Myanmar Generals..Without Burmese people

	Belgrade, aug 22 (tanjug-pool) president fidel ramos on thursday
	said the dream of a unified southeast asian commmunity, composed of
	10 countries in the region, could be realized in 1998.
     	'The idea of one southeast asia is moving very fast because it
	is an idea whose time has come,' ramos told participants of a 
	meeting	discussing the prospects of a single regional bloc, 
	efe reported from manila.
     
	The core of the proposed 10-nation grouping is the 7-member
	association of southeast asian nations (asean) composed of brunei,
	indonesia, malaysia, the philippines, singapore, thailand, and
	vietnam. The other three nations are cambodia, laos, and burma.
     	'the gathering of southeast asia's 10 countries and half a
	billion people into a 'greater' asean...will give our region the
	political clout, the market size, the financial weight, the talent
	pool, and the cultural diversity to count competitively in the world
	of the 21st century,' said ramos.
     	He pointed out that the european union could learn from the way
	asean has approached the problems of diversity through the process of
	consultation and consensus.
     	Cambodia and laos are expected to be accepted as members of
	asean next year, while burma will join the group in 1998.
(end)