Did Burma?s Asean move hide an ulterior motive?... "Burma is full of ironies. One surfaced at the recent Asean annual meeting in Laos, where a sigh of relief could be heard at the announcement that Burma would renounce its chairmanship of the bloc in 2006. The irony is that when Burma was welcomed into Asean in 1997, member governments thought they would be able to tame the generals and persuade them to accept social and political reforms. A bonus was offered by the possibility of plucking Burma out of China?s sphere of influence. This year, however, Asean foreign ministers wanted Burma to forgo the controversial Asean chairmanship. When it did, they were pleased. But didn?t Asean want Burma on board in order to foster movements there towards democracy? Why was it still not suitable for chairmanship?..."