Today's News on Burma[ Business Tim

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Subject: Today's News on Burma[ Business Times]

JAN 28 1999

                   Yangon bogs down EU-Asean ties 



                   By SHADA ISLAM

                   THE last-minute cancellation of the meeting between
European Union and
                   Asean senior officials scheduled for Monday in Bangkok
illustrates the
                   growing gap in trust and confidence between the two
regions. 

                   Over the years, the two have agreed to disagree over
their approach to
                   human rights. But quarrels over policy towards Myanmar
have brought the
                   EU-Asean relationship to a virtual standstill. 

                   Both sides now need to ask themselves if the 30-year-old
EU-Asean
                   relationship -- and the benefits it can bring to both
regions in areas like trade,
                   investment and industry -- should be sacrificed because
of disagreement on
                   how to deal with Yangon. 

                   Bickering over Myanmar's participation in EU-Asean
meetings is nothing
                   new. Over the last 16 months, however, EU and Asean
diplomats appeared
                   to have reached a cautious truce. 

                   There was agreement that Myanmar would have a "passive
presence" at the
                   talks in Bangkok. Yangon would not use its flag. It would
also not be allowed
                   to speak. Then, eleventh-hour difficulties arose over
Myanmar's name plate. 

                   Last Wednesday, the EU vetoed its participation in the
Bangkok meeting,
                   arguing that Thailand had not made provisions for a
special name plate for
                   Myanmar. 

                   The EU was adamant that the plaque must state clearly
that Myanmar was a
                   new Asean member and not part of the EU-Asean cooperation
accord. But
                   Thai officials had failed to understand just how
important the issue was for
                   Europe. 

                   On Thursday, Asean countries came back with fresh
proposals which met
                   European demands for an "invisible" Myanmar presence at
the talks. 

                   In essence, Asean agreed that the name plate for Myanmar
would make it
                   clear that the country is a "non-party" to the EU-Asean
trade and
                   cooperation agreement. 


                   Asean, however, refused EU demands that the final deal
should be put down
                   on paper. After last-minute crisis talks, the meeting was
cancelled. 

                   If skilful diplomats could not save the day, is there any
point in continuing the
                   EU-Asean relationship? 

                   Certainly, differences over how to deal with Myanmar are
so fundamental
                   that they will come back to haunt future encounters
between the two groups.

                   If they are to build a new partnership, bickering over
Yangon will have to
                   cease. Instead, the EU and Asean will have to focus on
areas where both
                   want to reinforce relations. 

                   In recent months, EU governments have been heartened by
Asean's more
                   assertive stance towards the Yangon military regime. They
now want Asean
                   to go one step further and condemn Myanmar. 

                   While some Asean members may harbour their own doubts
about Myanmar,
                   Asean as a whole is adamant that the country cannot be
kept out of
                   EU-Asean meetings and treated like a second-class member.
This means
                   more trouble ahead. 

                   Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands -- countries which
favour the toughest
                   approach towards Myanmar's military junta -- insist that
the compromise
                   designed in advance of the Bangkok meeting does not set a
precedent for
                   further EU-Asean encounters. 

                   In other words, Myanmar's presence at the EU-Asean
foreign ministers
                   meeting in Berlin is not guaranteed. 

                   There is a legal reason for this. Under the list of EU
sanctions adopted last
                   December, European governments cannot give visas to Myanmar
                   government representatives and their families. 

                   Even if host Germany could waive this for diplomatic
reasons, many other
                   EU governments do not want the Myanmar foreign minister
to attend as his
                   presence at a high-level encounter in Europe could lead
to criticism by
                   European human rights lobbies. 

                   The conundrum highlights the need for both sides to take
an honest look at
                   their relationship. If the EU-Asean cooperation is worth
preserving, then both
                   groups have to agree to put differences over Myanmar
behind them. 

                   They have much to gain by this. Europeans are anxious to
show Asean that
                   they are not mere fair-weather friends, that they are
still interested in Asean
                   and its future. 

                   Asean, for its part, is looking for open European markets
and more
                   investments from Europe. Globally, both regions have an
interest in
                   promoting trade liberalisation and fighting protection. 


                   Over the next few months, the two will have to decide if
these economic
                   arguments are compelling enough to prompt a shift in
gear. If not, EU-Asean
                   relations will remain mired in acrimony.

                   [The writer, a Brussels-based journalist, contributed
this article to
                   the Business Times.]