--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday June 17, 12:03 PM
Southeast Asian foreign
ministers to voice concern over Myanmar, NKorea
PHNOM
PENH (AFP) - Southeast Asian foreign
ministers are to wind up annual talks with a rare statement expressing concern
over the arrest in Myanmar of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and a proposal for
a peace mechanism to deal with the North Korean nuclear crisis.
Ministers
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have pressed
military-ruled Myanmar to release the Nobel peace laureate during their two-day
meet in the Cambodian capital in an unprecedented departure from their policy of
non-interference in members' affairs.
"They're making substantive changes
to the final draft and the paragraph on Myanmar is one of them," an ASEAN source
told AFP, referring to a statement to be released at the conclusion of
talks.
"In the discussions on Myanmar many of the ASEAN ministers
conveyed their concerns to the Myanmar foreign minister," Singaporean Foreign
Minister S. Jayakumar said after the first day of talks.
"The point was
made that the recent developments were a setback not just for Myanmar but also a
setback for ASEAN," he said.
ASEAN faces embarrassment on the
international stage for its implicit support of the brutal Myanmar regime
through its non-interference policy, which critics charge weakens the grouping,
comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Ministers are to be
pressured to take a harsher line against the country by US Secretary of State
Colin Powell, who is attending Wednesday's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the
region's top security grouping.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in what
the junta has called "protective custody" since May 30 clashes between her
supporters and a junta-backed mob in northern Myanmar.
"As long as that
detention continues, I think you'll find that will be an area of specific focus
from the international community," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said ahead of Powell's scheduled arrival here Tuesday.
"She and her party
won an election. She's been jailed repeatedly for speaking out and others have
been jailed for merely expressing their views," he said.
The ASEAN
ministers are also to propose a peace mechanism to deal with the North Korean
nuclear crisis, according to a draft statement seen here Tuesday.
The
mechanism would comprise a security guarantee from the United States, South
Korea, China, Russia and Japan "in exchange for the verifiable and irreversible
elimination of the nuclear weapons programme of the DPRK (North
Korea)".
A second component would be an economic package comprising the
normalisation of economic relations and the provision of development assistance
to the Stalinist state.
"We maintain that the best and only viable
solution to this regional crisis is through peaceful dialogue and consultation,"
the draft said.
Discussions among the ministers have also been dominated
by the rising threat of terrorism in the region, with Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen, who is chairing the week's meetings, calling for firm measures to
tackle the threat.
The ARF groups ASEAN with Australia, Canada, China,
the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Korea, North
Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United States.
--------------------------------------------------------------
No one in ASEAN believes Yangon over Aung San Suu Kyi:
East Timor
PHNOM PENH, June 17 (AFP) - Not one foreign minister in ASEAN believed
Yangon's claim that Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was detained for her
own protection, East Timorese Foreign Minister Ramos Horta said Tuesday.
He said he had held intense discussions with the ministers in regards to
obtaining her release and when asked how many ministers believed there was a
plot to assassinate Myanmar's opposition leader, Horta said: "None."
Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under what the junta has termed
"protective custody" in a military camp outside Yangon since a pro-junta mob
attacked her supporters on May 30.
"The story is totally unbelievable,"
Horta said in regards to the junta's claim. "The fact is they (ASEAN ministers)
are all demanding her release."
Foreign ministers from the Association
of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) earlier made an historic departure from a
long-standing policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs and called
for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.
Horta said his country, attending the
ASEAN meeting here as a guest and potential future member, always intended to
speak out and publicly challenge Myanmar over the detention but this prospect
had caused sleepless nights.
"I thought I'd be the odd man out in
speaking out on Myanmar and I was weighing up the costs and benefits in speaking
out. I am relieved that I am not alone and that ASEAN countries are breaking the
taboo," he said.
Horta praised Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda for breaking the taboo of non-interference and said ASEAN was acutely
aware of Myanmar's pariah status and that it is scheduled to chair the 10-member
bloc in 2006.
"On this basis, this summit is ground breaking. It was
unthinkable a year ago," he said in regards to speaking out on the conduct of a
member state.
"They are serious that no later than 2006 Myanmar has to
get out of the pariah status otherwise it will be severely embarrassing for
everyone. It's already very embarrassing. ASEAN foreign ministers have been
deeply upset by the setbacks in Myanmar," Horta said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Myanmar protesters in Thailand fast to protest Suu Kyi's
detention
Tuesday June 17, 3:21 PM
BANGKOK,
Thailand (AP) _ Six anti-government
activists from Myanmar said Tuesday they were starting a 58-hour protest fast in
front of their country's embassy to protest the detention of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who turns 58 this week.
The protesters demanded the
immediate release of Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy party
and is the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent campaign for
democracy.
She was arrested May 30 after what the ruling junta described
as a clash between National League for Democracy members and government
supporters.
Independent sources say government supporters ambushed Suu
Kyi and an entourage she was traveling with in northern Myanmar and that 70
people were killed in fighting.
World leaders have called for Suu Kyi to
be released and the restoration of political freedom for her party.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday June 17, 2:33 PM
Red Cross to meet Suu
Kyi
YANGON (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red
Cross will be allowed to visit Myanmar's detained opposition members rounded up
last month along with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the junta says.
The announcement comes amid mounting international pressure on the
ruling military to release Suu Kyi and her followers, detained since a bloody
May 30 clash between pro-junta groups and her supporters.
"The ICRC has
been granted access to those who were picked up for questioning about the events
on May 30," an official from the junta spokesman's office told Reuters.
He said the detainees included Tin Oo, vice chairman of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD), thought to be held in a jail hundreds of
miles northwest of Yangon.
The NLD swept to a landslide election victory
in 1990 but was never allowed to rule.
Rumours had circulated after May
30 that Tin Oo had been killed, but family members have said they recently
received a handwritten letter from him through authorities asking for medication
he regularly takes.
The junta official declined to say if the ICRC would
have access to Suu Kyi, who turns 58 on Thursday and was visited by a top U.N.
envoy last week.
ICRC officials in Yangon could not be reached for
immediate comment, but said earlier they had asked for access to all those held.
Suu Kyi is believed to be held in a government guesthouse in the capital
Yangon. NLD sources and family members of those detained said they had been told
many of those rounded up were in a jail in Kalay, about 600 miles (970 km)
northwest of Yangon.
Sources close to the ICRC in Yangon said they
understood its officials had already left to visit the jail.
Suu Kyi and
some two dozen senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) were
detained on May 30 following violence in a town north of Yangon near Mandalay.
The junta says four people were killed in the violence and about 50
injured. Diplomats and exiled dissidents believe many more may have been killed
or hurt, saying club-wielding thugs attacked Suu Kyi's convoy.
The
United Nations envoy who visited Suu Kyi said she had not been injured and was
in good spirits.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday June 17, 3:21 PM
ASEAN presses Myanmar but
stops short of action
By Ed Cropley
PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia's main political group
piled more pressure on member Myanmar on Tuesday to release pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, but failed to translate the words into anything more than a
slap on the wrist.
Debate on Myanmar suggested the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was becoming more prepared to criticise one of
its own, but the 10-member group closed a security meeting on Tuesday with a
statement that expressed concern, but little else.
Liberty for the Nobel
laureate was not the only issue on the agenda of the foreign ministers meeting
in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
They said they were committed to
greater cooperation to combat terrorism and voiced anxiety over North Korea's
nuclear ambitions and regret at its foreign minister's decision not to attend
the annual ASEAN Regional Forum on security on Wednesday.
Underscoring
ASEAN's new willingness to criticise one of its own, a final communique referred
to discussion of the political developments and "welcomed the assurances given
by Myanmar that the measures taken following the incident were temporary".
"We had a frank discussion, we had a broad discussion," Cambodian
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told a news conference at the end of the two-day
meeting.
"We hope that in a not very long time Miss Suu Kyi will be
released. We hope."
Suu Kyi, a longstanding opponent of Myanmar's
military rulers who has spent years under house arrest, was detained again at
the end of last month after her followers clashed with government supporters
during a rural tour.
Pressure to act on Myanmar follows a decision on
Monday by the European Union to tighten sanctions on the military government by
adding an arms embargo and visa bans and asset freezes on more than 150
officials in the junta.
MYANMAR'S ACTIONS HURT GROUP'S
REPUTATION
Officials said debate had not eroded the ASEAN
principle of non-interference, but their heated discussion behind closed doors
and admissions that Myanmar's actions were hurting the reputation of the entire
group cast a question mark over that stance.
Myanmar Foreign Minister
Win Aung said he would convey the concerns to his military government but gave
no date for the release of Suu Kyi.
The ministers' talks precede
Wednesday's annual security gathering of the ASEAN Regional Forum that has
brought U.S. Scretary of State Colin Powell on a whirlwind trip to a region
where he is anxious about the spread of extremist violence as well as North
Korea's nuclear plans.
"We also met at a time of deep anxiety for the
current situation on the Korean peninsula," said Hor Namhong, adding a veiled
call to reclusive Pyongyang to resume talks with his call to all parties to
remain "actively engaged in the dialogue process".
North Korea's nuclear
ambitions will be among topics to be discussed when ASEAN foreign ministers meet
counterparts from China, South Korea and Japan on Tuesday afternoon.
Ministers also focused on the war on terror. ASEAN, which groups mainly
Islamic states Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei with the Philippines, Cambodia,
Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Laos, urged more action and said
vigilance was essential.
In recent days, Cambodia and Thailand have
announced arrests of a number of suspected militants with links to the al
Qaeda-affiliated Jemaah Islamiah group blamed for the Bali bombs.
"I see
the risk is relatively high," Makarim Wibisono, head of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation counter-terrorism task force, told Reuters in an assessment
of dangers to the region.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday June 17, 8:33 PM
ASEAN considers sending
mission to Myanmar
PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Reuters) - The Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) is considering sending a ministerial mission to member Myanmar,
under pressure from the leading regional grouping to release Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi.
"There is no formal approval yet but it was supported by
all the foreign ministers," Philippines Foreign Minister Blas Ople told Reuters
on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
He said the idea had been initiated by Indonesian Foreign Minister
Hassan Wirajuda, whose nation takes over the chairmanship from current host
Cambodia for the next year.
Ministers held heated discussions on, and
with, Myanmar behind closed doors at their two-day meeting this week and some
voiced concern that Myanmar's tough actions to curb dissent were hurting the
reputation of the entire group.
Officials said Wirajuda was expected to
use Indonesia's leadership of ASEAN to push for more pressure on Myanmar's
military rulers, whose detention of Suu Kyi and reluctance to move towards
democratic change is starting to embarrass other members of the 10-nation group.
Myanmar will take over the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2006 -- a
date seen as crucial for changes to transform its system into one more
resembling the mostly democratic members of ASEAN.
ASEAN groups
Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand and
Singapore with Myanmar and the communist states of Vietnam and Laos.
--------------------------------------------------------------
ASEAN Under Pressure for Action on Myanmar
Tue
Jun 17, 1:33 AM ET
By Ed Cropley
PHNOM PENH
(Reuters) - Southeast Asia's main
political group piled more pressure on member Myanmar on Tuesday to release Aung
San Suu Kyi, but there was no sign it would translate the words into anything
other than a slap on the wrist.
The issue has for the first time eroded
the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) principle of
non-interference and diverted attention from the war on terror and regional
fears that North Korea is on the way to a nuclear capability.
During a
closed meeting of foreign ministers in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, debate
focused on the principle untouched by ASEAN in its 36-year history, said one of
those present.
But demands a day earlier by nine of the 10 members for
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's release and anxiety about a nuclear North Korea
dominated.
Suu Kyi, a longstanding opponent of Myanmar's military rulers
who has spent years under house arrest, was detained again at the end of last
month after her followers clashed with government supporters during a rural
tour.
Pressure for ASEAN to act on Myanmar follows a decision on Monday
by the European Union to tighten sanctions on the military government by adding
an arms embargo and visa bans and asset freezes on more than 150 officials in
the junta.
It also suspended trade privileges because of alleged use of
forced labor.
Ministers said such frank discussions by Asean would have
been impossible a few years ago and could herald one of the biggest shifts in a
group seen previously as little more than a talking shop.
Several are
concerned that Myanmar has embarrassed the group on the international stage and
are looking at breaking with basic principles to issue unprecedented criticism
of a member nation.
With Secretary of State Colin Powell arriving late
on Tuesday and already urging tougher U.S. sanctions against Myanmar's junta,
the group will face direct pressure to translate words into action.
Officials say Myanmar may not be able to escape some censure in a final
communique given the international condemnation heaped on its military rulers.
An initial draft merely notes "its endeavors for national reconciliation
and the transition to democracy."
Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung has
said he would convey the concerns to his military government but gave no date
for the release of Suu Kyi, detained on May 30 after a clash between her
supporters and those of the junta.
A TEST OF CREDIBILITY
"In regards with Suu Kyi, we are of the opinion that it has
been shameful for ASEAN because it has not been able in the last 13 years to
convince Myanmar's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council to hand over
power to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate," the Jakarta Post said in an editorial
on Tuesday.
"The ASEAN foreign ministers' success to ensure at least the
release of Suu Kyi will be a key test of the regional group's credibility."
The ministers' talks precede Wednesday's annual security gathering of
the ASEAN Regional Forum that has brought Powell on a whirlwind trip to a region
where he is anxious about the spread of extremist violence as well as North
Korea's nuclear plans.
The meeting also focused on the war on
terror. ASEAN, which groups mainly Islamic states Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei
with the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Laos,
should agree on closer cooperation, officials say.
In recent days,
Cambodia and Thailand have announced arrests of a number of suspected militants
with links to the al Qaeda-affiliated Jemaah Islamiah group blamed for the Bali
bombs.
"I see the risk is relatively high," said Makarim Wibisono, head
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation counter-terrorism task force in
assessing the dangers to the region.
"Implementation of our work plan is
very essential," he told Reuters. "Otherwise the terrorists themselves will see
that this is just rhetoric -- that there is no real action."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Japan says will cut Myanmar aid if Suu Kyi
held
PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Reuters) - Japan will begin cutting off aid
to Myanmar unless the country's ruling generals release pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.
Nobel peace
laureate Suu Kyi was detained on May 30 after clashes between her followers and
supporters of Myanmar's ruling junta. Despite a huge international outcry, she
remains in custody for what Myanmar says is her own safety.
''If this
situation continues it will be very difficult for the Japanese government to
continue existing policies. We have to rethink,'' foreign ministry spokesman
Hatsushisa Takashima told reporters in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
Japan, the largest donor in southeast Asia, gave Myanmar some $45
million in development assistance last year, the foreign ministry said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is in Phnom Penh for a
meeting with counterparts from the 10-member Association of South East Asian
Nations, which includes reclusive and deeply impoverished Myanmar.
Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung said on Monday Suu Kyi would be
released but gave no timescale.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Burma to listen to ASEAN concerns
17/06/2003
22:18:41 | ABC Radio Australia News
Burma's
Foreign Minister, Win Aung, says he will convey to his government concerns
expressed by South East Asian nations at the detention of opposition leader,
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign ministers of the Association of South-East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) took up the issue during a meeting in the Cambodian
capital, Phnom Penh.
Our correspondent in Phnom Penh, Peter Lloyd, says a
statement put out by the ASEAN ministers calls for the resumption of talks
between the military regime and the opposition but falls short of United States
demands for the organisation to push strongly for the immediate release of Aung
San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN ministers defended their comments saying they had a
frank exchange on Burma.
Officials say it was the first time ASEAN had
publicly commented on the internal affairs of a member state.
The US
Secretary of State, Colin Powell, is due to arrive Wednesday in Cambodia for
more talks on the matter.
Earlier, Australia's Foreign Minister,
Alexander Downer, said the world is looking to ASEAN to put both public and
private pressure on Burma.
Mr Downer said ASEAN should take the lead in
pushing Burma in the same way that southern Africa states are dealing with the
Mugabe Government in Zimbabwe.
"Just as on the issue of Zimbabwe I think
the primary responsibility for placing pressure on President Mugabe rest with
surrounding Southern African countries, so too, on Burma I think its incumbent
on the other ASEAN countries to do everything they can to try to get political
reform in Burma," he said.
Australia's Foreign Minister is due to meet
the Burmese Foreign Minister, Win Aung, in Phnom Penh on Thursday.when he says
he'll call for the release of Suu Kyi and other members of the National League
for Democracy.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Tuesday 17 June 2003
Asean takes up Burma, but only very reluctantly
The US
may have hurt its cause on Burma by demanding that Asean toughen its stance.
National leaders don't respond well to bullying.
LARRY JAGAN - Bangkok Post
The
countries of Southeast Asia have largely managed to postpone discussion of the
problems posed by Burma's membership of Asean, but this has proven impossible at
their annual foreign ministers meeting currently under way in Phnom
Penh.
The issue will also certainly be at the centre of discussions the
foreign ministers will hold tomorrow with their western partners at the Asean
Regional Forum. The United States and Europe are committed to pushing the issue
of Aung San Suu Kyi's continued detention and the need for political change in
Burma.
Burma has long been a major cause of tension between the United
States and Asia. Now US Secretary of State Colin Powell has virtually declared
war on Asia, with his statement published in the Asian Wall Street Journal last
week demanding that the countries of Asia join the US in putting pressure on
Burma's junta to free Suu Kyi and introduce democratic reform.
``The
thugs who now rule Burma must understand that their failure to restore democracy
will only bring more and more pressure against them and their supporters,'' Mr
Powell concluded in his statement.
But this hard-line message is unlikely
to have much impact _ either on Rangoon or on the generals who head the regime.
In fact, it is almost certain to be counter-productive. ``The US secretary of
state's blast to Asia has clearly upset many of the leaders in the region, who
already had misgivings about Washington's bullying approach to the region in the
past,'' said a senior western diplomat in Southeast Asia who did not wish to be
identified.
Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, who has been
at the forefront of Asia's behind-the-scenes campaign to get Suu Kyi freed and
real political dialogue started, has felt obliged to publicly denounce
international pressure on Burma as counter-productive.
Dr Mahathir and
his Philippines counterpart, President Gloria Arroyo, drew up a resolution on
Burma when they met in Tokyo earlier this month, The resolution was to have been
tabled by the Philippines at this week's Asean foreign ministers meeting,
according to government sources in Tokyo.
Asean officials say the
situation in Burma is being discussed in Phnom Penh despite the organisation's
policy of non-interference.
``The timing of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention
put Burma back into the spotlight,'' Ong Keng Yong, Asean's secretary-general,
said. ``So the ministers' thinking is probably to find a way to shift the
spotlight away from this issue alone because there are other, very important
issues for Asean.''
Some reference to Burma will now appear in the joint
communique to be issued at the end of the meeting today. ``We in Asean are now
sharing in accountability to the world about the slow progress of the transition
to democracy in Burma,'' said Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople.
But
Southeast Asian leaders have discussed Burma in the past. A couple of years ago,
Goh Chok Tong, the Singaporean prime minister, while hosting the annual Asean
summit, initiated a private huddle of leaders which is believed to have been
instrumental in convincing Burma's top general, Than Shwe, to start a dialogue
with Suu Kyi and accept the UN envoy Razali Ismail as the
facilitator.
While something like this is unlikely to happen in Phnom
Penh, many of Southeast Asia's governments will be looking for ways that the
organisation might use to defuse the issue of Burma to avoid a major split with
their western partners and a return to the acrimonious relations of the past
when the differences over Burma caused the suspension of summit meetings between
Asean and the European Union
Many Asean governments have begun to
realise the embarrassment the organisation will suffer if Burma is still a
military dictatorship when it takes over the Asean presidency in 2006. Dr
Mahathir, who was instrumental in bringing Burma into the group in 1997, has
been particularly troubled by the prospect, according to sources close to the
Malaysian prime minister.
Before going to Burma on June 6 and meeting
with Suu Kyi four days later, UN envoy Razali had communicated his willingness
to attend the Asean meetings to both the Asean secretary-general and the
Cambodian foreign minister, according to UN sources in New York. ``While he has
not been formally invited, it is still possible he may be attending the meeting
in some capacity or other,'' a senior Asian diplomat said.
Mr Razali is
particularly keen to attend tomorrow's regional security forum, according to UN
sources.
There have been growing signs from many Asean governments over
the past two weeks that the policy of non-interference would not prevent Burma
from being discussed. Both Cambodia and Thailand's foreign ministers have
alluded to the fact that the situation in Burma is an international issue and
that the non-intervention policy was evolving and some internal issues needed to
be addressed even in the face of strong objections from some member
countries.
``The result of these discussions will not be made public,'' a
senior Asian diplomat in Phnom Penh for the meetings said. ``There is no way
Asean can publicly criticise one of its members, but that doesn't mean there
would not be substantial pressure brought to bear on Rangoon
privately.''
The United States, largely supported by Europe, has been
continually at odds with Asia, particularly the countries of Southeast Asia,
over how best to encourage Burma's ruling generals to introduce economic and
political change.
``The Asean and Asian approach to Burma emphasises
constructive engagement _ not destructive isolation,'' a senior Asian diplomat
in Bangkok said.
A Rangoon-based Asian diplomat added: ``There is no way
that Asia, including Japan and China, could support an international economic
boycott of Burma. And no amount of US pressure will change that.''
What
is needed is a rigorous dialogue between the West and Asia about realistic
options that might help the process of change in Burma.
Many Asian
leaders and diplomats had hoped the regional meeting of the ARF in Phnom Penh
might provide a venue for that kind of discussion. Mr Powell's remarks may now
have prevented that from happening.
Asia's leaders are now likely to back
Burma's military government, instead of criticising the junta publicly, and
support Rangoon's pleas that more time is needed before Suu Kyi can be released
and the dialogue process put back on track.
``"No matter what the US and
Europe believe, now is not the time to resort to sanctions,'' a senior Japanese
diplomat said. ``Rangoon must have time to show they are sincere when they say
they will release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and start talks with her.''
The
West would be best holding talks with Asian leaders on how Mr Razali's role in
Burma's reconciliation process might be strengthened. The events of the past
month or so show how fragile Burma's dialogue process is and how crucial Mr
Razali is to its progress.
``It's now really time to consider changing
Ambassador Razali's remit and making effective a mediator so that he can try to
force the two sides to sit down together at the same table and start talking
about the country's political future,'' said a European diplomat in Bangkok who
is also responsible for Burma.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bangkok Post - Tuesday 17 June 2003
Rangoon tackled over Suu Kyi
Ministers put aside
non-interference pact
Bhanravee Tansubhapol - Phnom
Penh
Asean foreign ministers yesterday broke their long-standing rule of
non-interference to officially discuss Burma's detention of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and press Rangoon for her release.
``What happened in
Burma can affect Asean as a whole,'' said Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam
Hong after a three-hour meeting on the issue during the annual ministerial talks
here.
The Burmese military junta has been the target of fierce criticism
by world leaders since it arrested Mrs Suu Kyi last month.
Asean is
concerned this will affect the regional body which is seen as having done little
to bring pressure to bear on one of its own.
``All of us in Asean
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) wish that Aung San Suu Kyi will be
freed to do what she would like to do,'' Asean secretary-general Ong Keng Yong
said.
``I think that is at the bottom of our heart and in our own way we
have explained to the Burmese foreign minister that wish. But we don't want to
do it in a confrontational manner,'' he said.
Burmese Foreign Minister
Win Aung defended her detention saying it was for the safety of Mrs Suu Kyi, who
would be released ``as soon as it is possible''.
Mr Hor Nam Hong said
Asean appreciated hearing about the latest developments in Burma from the
Burmese foreign minister.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai
said Asean's willingness to talk about the matter showed it had reached another
stage of maturity.
``We have discussed the domestic issue of one country.
This has ramifications for our region. Mr Win Aung has an open mind, explained
the situation and we are encouraged by what he said,'' said Mr
Surakiart.
Mr Win Aung also promised Asean that the political dialogue
with Mrs Suu Kyi would continue and that national reconciliation would not be
derailed. He would try to gather all parties to draft a new
constitution.
References to the domestic situation in Burma would be
contained in the joint communique{AAC} to be issued today.
One diplomat
said Asean did not make such a request to Burma but Rangoon volunteered to
include the matter in the communique{AAC}.
During the Asean retreat, the
foreign ministers also agreed to Indonesia's proposal to set up an Asean
Security Community (ASC) but details are not known.
Mr Surakiart said
ministers understood that ASC was not a defence pact like Nato but it would help
create a road map for security cooperation.
The ASC would not move faster
than the Asean Economic Community which would be raised for talks during the
Asean Summit in Bali this October.
Indonesia yesterday released a concept
paper towards an Asean Security Community, to urge Asean foreign ministers to
strengthen regional peace and security.
If the vision for an Asean
Economic Community can be achieved, an Asean Security Community could also come
into being.
Indonesia's paper also urged Asean to update its principles
such as non-interference, respect for national sovereignty, consensus-based
decision-making, the renunciation of the use of force, and the threat of the use
of force.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Welcomes Asean Call for Myanmar to Free Aung San Suu
Kyi
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. welcomed a call by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations for Myanmar to release opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Department said.
The process of returning
the country to democracy is failing because of the actions of the military
government, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Suu Kyi, the winner
of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, was detained May 30 by the junta that has ruled
the country formerly known as Burma for 41 years.
``The more that the
Asean countries are able to make clear that their neighbor and fellow neighbor
has been moving this in the wrong direction, then I think the better,'' Boucher
said yesterday in Washington.
Members of the 10-nation Association urged
Myanmar to free the opposition leader when foreign ministers met yesterday in
Cambodia, the Associated Press reported, citing Asean's Secretary General Ong
Keng Yong. The appeal was a change from the forum's normal practice of not
discussing the domestic affairs of its members, AP said.
U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell will discuss Suu Kyi's detention when he joins the Asean
ministers for talks tomorrow, the State Department said last week. Powell will
be looking ``to get some focus on the issue'' of Myanmar's crackdown on the
opposition, Boucher said. ``The primary focus at this point will be on her
release and the release of others who were detained,'' Boucher said.
Powell, in a commentary last week in the Wall Street Journal, said the
``thugs who run the government'' placed Suu Kyi under what they called
``protective custody.''
Easing of Tensions
Asean ministers told Myanmar's representatives ``they would
like to see an easing of tensions and early release of Aung San Suu Kyi,'' AP
cited Ong as saying yesterday in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.
The
military government has released 22 people detained for questioning May 30, AP
cited Michel Ducreaux, the representative of the International Committee of the
Red Cross in Myanmar, as saying in the capital, Yangon.
Universities,
colleges and schools, which were closed after Suu Kyi's arrest, have opened, AP
reported.
The State Department rejected as a ``ridiculous explanation,''
a statement by Myanmar's government that Suu Kyi is being protected from
assassination.
``All the threats to her seem to come from the regime and
not from anywhere else,'' Boucher said. ``She's been jailed repeatedly for
speaking out.''
Suu Kyi was detained after a clash between her
supporters and those of the junta in the north of the country. United Nations
envoy Razali Ismail was able to meet Suu Kyi last week and said she was in good
health.
Myanmar remains under U.S. sanctions after the military
nullified election results in 1990 that would have put Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy in power. The opposition leader has spent most of the past decade
under house arrest.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The International Herald Tribune
U.S. needs a serious
Burma policy
David I. Steinberg
IHT
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Don't wait for crises
BANGKOK The
United States pays attention to Burma only when the Southeast Asian country is
in crisis. Yet sustained attention is needed. As Secretary of State Colin Powell
prepares to meet senior Asia-Pacific officials in Phnom Penh on Wednesday for
the annual ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum on security, a
thorough review of America's Burma policy is urgently required.
.
The
recent violence in central Burma between groups backed by the military
government and supporters of the democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
is a serious setback to internal conciliation. It shows the inherent tensions in
the country. It also shows that only trauma in Burma seems to catch the
attention of U.S. policymakers.
.
After a military takeover in 1962,
Burma went into self-imposed isolation. A popular uprising in 1988 was
ruthlessly crushed and ended with another military coup. Elections in 1990
sanctioned by the military were overwhelmingly won by Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, but the results were ignored by the junta.
.
With Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, the United States in 1997
imposed sanctions against new U.S. investments in Burma. Having taken the moral
high ground, however, America then largely ignored Burma until Aung San Suu Kyi
was released a little more than a year ago. The international media were invited
in, and extensive reporting occurred. Political negotiations between Aung San
Suu Kyi and the military were supposed to begin. There was even talk of possible
power-sharing. Yet little progress was made despite high international
expectations about possible compromises and concessions.
.
When the
recent clash occurred, mutual recriminations were increasing. The opposition was
frustrated that dialogue had not advanced while the military was alarmed to see
Aung San Suu Kyi greeted by large, enthusiastic crowds so long after the 1990
elections.
.
Following the clash and the military's decision to place
Aung San Suu Kyi in indefinite "protective" custody, the Bush administration
extended the number of Burmese officials banned from entering the United States,
froze some Burmese assets and prohibited money transfers from the United States
to Burma.
.
The U.S. Congress is expected impose additional sanctions
against imports of garments and textiles from Burma. The factories that make
them employ several hundred thousands workers, mostly women. Advocates of
sanctions charge that only the military benefits from such exports, but this is
patently false.
.
Again, the moral high ground will have been attained
and indignation satisfied, but the failure of earlier U.S. sanctions to oust the
military has been ignored. New sanctions, imposed unilaterally, are unlikely to
be any more effective.
.
To date, U.S. policy has been focused on human
rights and governance, with Washington calling on the junta in Rangoon to honor
the May 1990 election results and allow the opposition to govern. But a review
of policy toward Burma should examine all aspects of U.S. interests, present and
potential.
.
There are many questions to answer. Is Burma's strategic
position on the flank of America's treaty ally, Thailand, important? Burma is
strategic to both China and India, so how does the United States regard
Chinese-Indian rivalry in view of extensive Chinese penetration of Burma with
military arms sales, infrastructure support, training, economic assistance and
access to the Bay of Bengal?
.
What would a Chinese presence mean at the
western end of the Strait of Malacca? This key waterway is a shipping link for
America to the joint British-U.S. base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. How
does U.S. policy toward Burma affect relations with ASEAN, the Association of
South East Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member? Powell said recently that
ASEAN must end its habit of silence and put more pressure on Burma. Clearly the
U.S. has major policy disagreements with ASEAN on Burma.
.
What are the
U.S. interests in controlling Burma's opium production, and the distribution of
methamphetamine stimulants? What effect, if any, could international business
have in influencing government policies in Burma, and if so, over what period of
time?
.
What concerns should the United States have about the minorities
who comprise a third of Burma's population and have ethnic kin in India, China
and Thailand? Grievous political, economic and security conditions in Burma have
led more than a million Burmese of all ethnic groups to flee to neighboring
states. An educated elite has also fled, reducing the capacity of the state to
function competently.
.
ASEAN, which eschews interference in the internal
affairs of its member states, should recognize that there are clear regional
implications of Burmese internal strife. Meanwhile, the United States must
develop a proactive policy on Burma, not wait for the inevitable crisis.
.
The writer is director of Asian studies in the School of Foreign
Service, Georgetown University, Washington.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysian National News Agency
June 17 , 2003
20:15PM
ASEAN Has Not Abandoned Its Non-Interference
Policy
From Saraswathi Muniappan
PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Bernama) -- Asean has not abandoned its policy of
non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries although it
discussed developments in Myanmar and Acheh at the 36th Asean Ministers Meeting
(AMM) which ended here Tuesday.
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong,
as chairman of the 36th AMM, said that the ministers had an open and frank
discussion on Myanmar but no decision or ultimatum was issued to Myanmar.
"We are still sticking to the principle of non-intervention. We had a
very comfortable atmosphere of discussion on Myanmar's situation. The Myanmar
minister listened very carefully to what we had to say," he told a press
conference here.
The open discussion on domestic issues only meant that
Asean member countries had moved a step forward in inter-country relationship,
he reiterated.
Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been
taken under "protective custody" by the military junta on May 30 but since then
there had been many requests for her immediate release.
In a
joint-communique released at the end of the two-day meeting, Asean ministers
urged Myanmar to resume its efforts at national reconciliation and dialogue
among all parties concerned leading to a peaceful transition to democracy.
"We welcomed the assurances given by Myanmar that the measures taken
following the incident were temporary and looked to the early lifting of
restrictions placed on Aung San Suu Kyi," it said.
They also reaffirmed
their continued support for the efforts of the United Nation's Special Envoy to
Myanmar Tan Sri Razali Ismail.
Describing the AMM meeting as a success,
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the foreign
ministers had "discussed openly and frankly matters that were at one time
considered taboo or sensitive".
--------------------------------------------------------------
Asia Times - Jun 18, 2003
Myanmar:
Rift within the junta
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - The future of Myanmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
may be in the balance.
"There are assassins in the country," said
Foreign Minister Win Aung, "and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in custody for her own
protection." No one has taken these allegations seriously, but there is a strong
sense that the opposition leader's safety may in danger.
United Nations
envoy Razali Ismail, who met government leaders and Suu Kyi on his last visit,
is also convinced that the military junta wants to shield her from danger.
So for the time being at least, Suu Kyi remains in custody, where she
has been since the end of May after an attack on her motorcade and supporters by
what US diplomats have called a premeditated ambush by government-supported
thugs.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be released in due course," Win Aung
told his counterparts at the foreign ministers' meeting of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia on Monday. "Don't press us to commit
ourselves to a timeframe and date of releasing her," he said. "The important
thing is that the will [to free her] is there."
Whether this happens -
and when - largely depends on what is happening within the military hierarchy.
For some time now, there has been growing evidence of a rift within the army's
top ranks over what to do with Suu Kyi and whether to start direct talks with
her.
The top military leader, General Than Shwe, clearly felt that there
was no need to negotiate with the opposition. The hardliners who share his view
have led the campaign against Suu Kyi as she traveled around the countryside.
But not everyone within Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) seems to share this approach.
The pragmatists - believed
to be centered on the military intelligence chief, General Khin Nyunt - were
prepared to talk to Suu Kyi and to engage the international community on
political and economic reform in the country. They are clearly embarrassed by
what went on upcountry before she was detained.
"It is highly
significant that General Than Shwe was out of town during most of Razali's
visit," said an Asian diplomat in Yangon. He reportedly went to a seaside resort
shortly after the envoy's arrival and remained there until Razali left for Kuala
Lumpur.
This has raised crucial questions about Than Shwe's position and
authority. Diplomats are intrigued by the fact that for nearly two weeks after
the May 30 attack against Suu Kyi, there was no coverage of the general in the
state-run media. "This is more than curious as the media usually follow and
document his every move - especially when he leaves the capital and when he
returns," said a Yangon-based diplomat.
In the past few days, the senior
general has been back on the front pages and television news - perhaps
signifying that Myanmar's senior leaders are resolving their differences. But
doubts remain about whether there have been any major realignments with the top
leadership.
"The are signs of a power struggle going on in [Yangon],"
said a retired senior Asian diplomat who has close ties with Myanmar but did not
want to be identified. "There are few public manifestations of this. But in the
next few months there is likely to be a major shakeup of the top brass - similar
to what happened some 10 years ago when General Saw Maung was pushed out."
Many of these military leaders saw the start of the dialogue process as
something that could guarantee the army a long-term role in the country's
political future. Now they realize the process is falling apart, and with it,
their grasp on power.
Military sources close to Than Shwe say he loathes
Suu Kyi, and refuses to have her name mentioned in his vicinity. "The very
mention of her name throws the senior general into a fit," said a senior Asian
diplomat, adding that Asian leaders such as Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi were advised not to mention her name during their meetings last year.
There certainly appears to have been an intense debate within Myanmar's
military leadership - possibly confined to the triumvirate of Than Shwe, Maung
Aye and Khin Nyunt - over whether to allow Razali access to Suu Kyi. In the end,
General Maung Aye intervened and sanctioned the visit to the opposition leader.
"What is now clear is that General Maung Aye is exercising power - even
in the national reconciliation process, which he had kept well away from since
it started," said a Yangon-based Western diplomat. "This may signal the turning
point in the dialogue too."
In the past three years during his trips to
Yangon, Razali has not met Maung Aye - except when he met all three top leaders,
at which occasions Khin Nyunt took the lead.
But the dialogue Razali
helped broker between the generals and the opposition leader is in trouble. Even
UN officials associated with the envoy say "there is no real process at
present".
Yet the latest crisis may provide an opportunity to get
substantive talks started. It is now up to Myanmar's military rulers to make the
first move. "They have to let her out if they want to continue with national
reconciliation," said Razali. "You can't do it with one party locked up."
Two of Myanmar's top three generals have assured Razali this will happen
soon. But "they must do something now to indicate that are serious about moving
quickly to discussing things with her," he said, "a point I also made to them
after meeting her."
In the space of two weeks the pendulum may have
swung back in favor of the pragmatists - those who want to talk to Suu Kyi and
realize they must implement political and economic reform.
Suu Kyi is
only likely to be released after the struggle within Myanmar's military
leadership is resolved. That would certainly signal the start of a real
political dialogue.
"Now there is a very real possibility of serious
political talks starting some time in the future," said a UN official. "But like
everything in Burma, it is by no means certain - it depends on developments in
[Yangon]."
(Inter Press Service)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kawaguchi urges release of Suu Kyi
Tuesday,
June 17, 2003 at 19:01 JST
PHNOM PENH (Kyodo
News) - Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi urged Myanmar's
junta Tuesday to release pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
some members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in a policy speech made
in the Cambodian capital.
Kawaguchi also pledged Japan's continued
assistance for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to help narrow their economic
disparities with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
--------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-06-17
Explanation of the Burmese Junta on Suu Kyi detention
ridiculous: US
Washington, (PTI), June 17: Lashing out
at Myanmar's military rulers, US has termed as "ridiculous" the Junta's claim
that pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi was under its "protection".
"Junta's explanation that she is under protection against assassination
is kind of a ridiculous explanation," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said yesterday.
The threats to her, he said, have come from the regime
and not from anybody else.
"She and her party won an election. She has
been jailed repeatedly for speaking out and others have been jailed for merely
expressing their views. All the threats to her seem to come from the regime, and
not from anywhere else," Boucher said.
--------------------------------------------------------------