Indonesia dismisses US pressure on

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Subject:  Indonesia dismisses US pressure on ASEAN over Burma

Burma-Indonesia : Indonesia dismisses US pressure on ASEAN over Burma

BANGKOK, April 28 (AFP) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas on Monday 
said US sanctions would have no impact on Rangoon's entry into the Association 
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year.

"We in ASEAN don't believe that sanctions are relevant or workable in the case 
of Myanmar," he said, referring to Burma by the Rangoon government's official 
name for the country.

"Getting Myanmar into ASEAN is the better way of ensuring greater peace, 
greater development and stability in our part of the world," he told reporters 
ahead of the opening ministerial session of the UN Economic and Social 
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Burma, Cambodia and Laos are expected to be admitted to the southeast Asian 
grouping this year. ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.