ASEAN stands firm on Burma's entry

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Subject: ASEAN stands firm on Burma's entry despite Western pressure

ASEAN stands firm on Burma's entry despite Western pressure

by Roberto Coloma

KUALA LUMPUR, May 1  - Western pressure on the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) to delay Burma's entry appears to be backfiring after the 
group vowed to push ahead with its expansion plans, diplomats said Thursday.

ASEAN members have expressed determination to admit Burma, Cambodia and Laos 
simultaneously and Malaysia is optimistic they will be accorded membership 
during the group's annual foreign ministers' meeting here in July.

Washington has banned new US investment in Burma while the European Union is 
to extend for another six months a package of political and economic 
sanctions, including a ban on European visits by Burmese junta figures.

A Southeast Asian diplomat said Western pressure appeared to have hardened the 
position of Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

"He is the kind of person who, if you push him, is going to push in the other 
direction," the diplomat told AFP, stressing that Mahathir was keen to see 
ASEAN embrace all three new members this year during his country's stint at 
chairing the organisation.

Mahathir said Wednesday that "unless something unusual happens, I feel Burma 
would be admitted," citing an ASEAN commitment at a summit last November in 
Jakarta to bring in Burma, Cambodia and Laos simultaneously.

Mahathir said that "whatever pressure may be exerted, we are independent 
enough to make our own decisions."

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand 
and Vietnam. Their foreign ministers are to hold a special meeting here on May 
31 to work out details of the admission process.

The Southeast Asian diplomat said that officially, ASEAN had not yet agreed to 
admit Burma in July "but the consensus is that it is more problematic if Burma 
is not admitted."

"If it is outside, it is free to behave like a rogue or a pariah, while if it 
is inside, it would be subject to certain norms of behaviour."

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has estimated that 
800,000 people are currently being forced to work on government or military 
projects in Burma.

Amnesty International described 1996 as the worst year for human rights in 
Burma this decade, with more than 2,000 people arrested for calling for 
reforms and severe restrictions placed on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's 
freedom of movement and speech.

The United States and Europe believe isolating the Burmese junta will force it 
to improve its behaviour, but ASEAN members favor a policy of "constructive 
engagement" combining quiet diplomacy with growing trade and investment.

While affirming the importance of human rights, ASEAN members fear that a 
sudden upheaval in Burma could sow instability across its extensive borders.

According to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon, ASEAN's 
relationship with Burma "has strategic implications -- not only in the single 
dimension of human rights."

Singapore's Straits Times said in an editorial that Burma's entry was a 
delicate issue but "in the end, what will tilt the balance of arguments is 
ASEAN's determination not to be dictated" to by the West on the issue.

An ASEAN mission was in Burma's capital Rangoon this week for talks on the 
admission process which, judging by official Burmese reports, apparently went 
well.

Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw expressed appreciation for the "support and 
understanding" of ASEAN in the prepartions for its membership.

He said Burma had established a national ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) unit and 
an ASEAN core group in the foreign ministry as part of its plans to accede to 
the group as a full member.

Under the AFTA plan, members of the group are to dismantle tariffs on most 
products traded within the region by 2003. ASEAN officials say commitment to 
this program is a crucial requirement of ASEAN membership.
(AFP)