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NEWS - ASEAN Does "the Least" for B



Subject: NEWS - ASEAN Does "the Least" for Burma, Says Suu Kyi

Rights-Burma: ASEAN Does "the Least" for Burma, Says Suu Kyi

               Inter Press Service
               18-JUN-99

               RANGOON, (Jun. 18) IPS - Two years after it admitted the
               Burmese regime into its fold, the Association of
South-east
               Asian Nations (ASEAN) should realize its mistake and take
a
               tougher approach on Rangoon, Burmese opposition leader
               Aung San Suu Kyi says. 

               "I think this non-interference is just an excuse for not
helping
               and we think that in our day and age, you cannot avoid
               interference in the (internal) matters of countries," Suu
Kyi
               told a group of visiting South-east Asian women
journalists
               and activists here this week. 

               She said that while other countries are "very active
about
               helping the democratization process... I think you have
to
               admit that the ASEAN countries do least". 

               Already, South-east Asian governments gave the Burmese
               military regime a measure of international legitimacy
when it
               admitted the state into ASEAN in 1997, despite strong
               opposition from the west and from critics in the region. 

               But two years after ASEAN boldly threw its support behind
               the military junta in the hope that it could influence
Rangoon
               to introduce political reforms, its policy of
"constructive
               engagement" seems to have fallen flat on its face. 

               The junta, known as the State Peace and Development
               Council (SPDC), has in fact tightened its grip of power
and
               intensified its crackdown on the opposition, arresting
and
               jailing its leaders and supporters, observers say. 

               For Nobel Prize laureate leader Suu Kyi, it is time that
               ASEAN take a different approach. 

               She takes exception to the argument of some ASEAN
               governments that "democracy is a Western concept and that
               you've got to keep your Asian value". 

               "They talk a lot about non-interference," she told her
visitors
               Wednesday at the headquarters of the National League for
               Democracy (NLD), of which she is general-secretary. "We

               cannot help feeling that this somehow smacks of a
               conscience which is not completely clear." 

               ASEAN's policy of non-interference has been widely
               criticized by the West and human rights groups in Asia,
and
               has allowed authoritarian governments in the region to
               ignore repeated calls for political reforms. 

               It also shows a lack of political will to address the
issue of
               human rights, all for the sake of unity in the ASEAN
circle. 

               ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
               Thailand, the Philippines and also includes Vietnam,
Laos,
               Burma and Cambodia, which joined the South-east Asia's
               political club only in April. 

               The Philippines, Thailand and Singapore had initially
               expressed reservations against Burma's admission into
               ASEAN. They wanted the SPDC to initiate a dialogue with
               the opposition NLD. 

               The NLD won the 1990 general elections, but the junta has
               refused to respect the result of the poll and has
prevented its
               leaders from taking their seats in Parliament. 

               Efforts toward a dialogue between NLD and the SPDC have
               not been successful. Now, Suu Kyi, the symbol of Burmese
               struggle for freedom, wants ASEAN to put more pressure on
               the military junta. 

               "We have made various compromises and we have been as
               flexible as possible," she told the group of visiting
women
               during a "tea party" to mark Women's Day at the NLD
               headquarters in Rangoon. 

               "We have tried, we have bent backwards in order to make
               dialogue possible. But the military regime does not want
               dialogue because they think dialogue is the beginning of
the
               end for them," she explained. 

               "I think what we need is a new initiative on the part of
               ASEAN members and I think it is time that the ASEAN
               recognize that the inflexibility is on the part of the
military
               regime and not on the part of the NLD," she declared. 

               The opposition leader said ASEAN, which will hold its
annual
               ministerial meeting in Singapore next month, should take
a
               more positive attitude toward bringing about a negotiated
               settlement in Burma. 

               Since Burma's brutal suppression of the 1988
               pro-democracy uprising, the United States and other
               European countries have imposed economic sanctions
               against the ruling junta, although some multinationals
with
               existing projects continue to operate here. 

               The U.S. has passed legislation prohibiting new
investments
               in Burma and the European Union and other parties have
               levied milder economic penalties against the military
               government. 


               But this is hardly the case among ASEAN countries, which
               continue to pour millions of dollars in investments in
               infrastructure projects across the country. 

               Critics say these foreign investments are what prop up
the
               regime, enabling it to cling on to power. 

               "Many ASEAN countries are investing in Burma. Is that not
               interference in our internal affairs? They are now
involved
               economically so how can they say that 'we are not going
to
               get involved in the political side?'" said Suu Kyi.