EBO
News Summary:
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1.
2. ASEAN warns Western powers to handle
3. EU set to harden sanctions against
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Associated Press
Aung San Suu Kyi is being kept in custody
to protect her from a possible
assassination attempt, and added that no time frame can
be given for
the pro-democracy leader's release.
Foreign Minister Win Aung refused to say
who the possible assassins would be
or why they would want to target Suu Kyi.
"We have heard there were assassins
coming in the country. I don't know who
their target will be," the minister told
reporters in
attend the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (search) conference
beginning Monday.
"We know that whatever happened to
her will be real trouble to us. Because
everything will be blamed (on) us and there will be
attempts to create a situation
where the country will be in deep anarchic
situation," he said.
Although the government has said
previously that she is in "protective custody,"
this is the first time that an assassination
theory has been put forward.
Win Aung stressed that the Nobel Peace
laureate is not in detention but in
custody to make sure that she comes to no
"personal harm," adding the
government had no intention of harming Suu Kyi, the
daughter of
national hero, Aung San.
"She is our national leader's
daughter she is like our sister," he said.
In the meantime, he said, the government
cannot give a committed date
for her release.
"Don't press us to commit ourselves
to a timeframe and date of releasing
her ... the important thing is that the will
(to free her) is there," he said.
On Saturday,
that led to her detention, and said the
violence showed she was incapable
of running the country.
-----------------------------------
ASEAN warns Western powers to
handle
by P. Parameswaran
cautioned Western powers to handle the issue of
restoring democracy in the
country delicately, fearing it could blow up into
another
the focus of intense external power rivalry.
Ong Keng Yong,
secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), said the group had
managed to contain the
within the country's boundaries with its so
called constructive engagement
policy.
"Speaking as the ASEAN
Secretary-General, I am not talking about the right
or wrong of the institutions in
to understand the complexities of
of a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in
the Cambodian capital.
Reacting to a barrage of criticism
levelled at ASEAN for what some called
its failure to restore democracy in
should not be allowed to develop into a ugly
confrontation that will
destabilise the situation in
Citing the break-up of former
with up to 10 major communities and more than
100 dialect groups located
alongside
"We sometimes forget that this unique
piece of geography called
be a major destablising
factor in the Indian ocean not just in
which is just a small part of the equation.
"People even talk about what
of
San Suu Kyi, after a bloody May 30 clash
between supporters of her National
League for Democracy
(NLD) and backers of the military regime.
The crackdown led to an international
outcry, with
Colin Powell calling the ruling
the other ASEAN member states to confront
"I do not want to confront Mr Powell
or anyone else critical of
I just want to state the facts," Ong said.
He pointed out that ASEAN could not
dictate to member states how they
should run their country but through
"delicate" discussions over the last
decade or so we have "engaged
and economically.
"Without our engagement policy, Maynmar will be in a worse state than what
it is and will not be able to engage in
regional and international issues.
"By engaging
It does not impinge heavily on anyone's
strategic interests --
the
Ong, a Singaporean, said if
"will never
allow any destablisation of the
never allow a deterioration south of its border
where there are many ethnic
communities."
Ong said that if ASEAN dictated to any of its
member states how their
governments should be run, "we will be setting a
dangerous precedent and we
will be known as facilitators of regime change
or political status quo.
"If we do that, do you think
comfortable with their relations with ASEAN?"
Against the historical, geographic and
strategic geo-political issues
linked to
"better
treatment" to Aung San Suu Kyi.
"There is a wish that certain things
should not be done to her. How do we
bring about this wish? That is a challenge to
us," he said.
"In the case of ASEAN, many of us
wish that her treatment can be better but
at the same time, it is important to realise
that there are two sides of the
coin.
"You cannot say one side can do no
wrong and the other side is always
wrong," he said without elaborating.
-----------------------------------
EU set to harden sanctions against
Myanmar over Aung San Suu Kyi
toughen up sanctions against
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an EU diplomatic source
said on Saturday.
EU foreign ministers scheduled to meet in
to "immediately put in place increased
sanctions," the source said.
Harsher EU penalties could include an
extension to the list of
leaders barred from entering the EU as well as a
toughening up of an arms
embargo.
The present sanctions regime includes an
arms embargo, a freezing of assets
and a visa ban on a list of Burmese
officials.
The European Union's Commission warned on
June 6 that it could strengthen
sanctions against
Kyi. It set a deadline of October 29 to
introduce the new measures.
Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in a
military camp 40 kilometres (25 miles)
outside the capital.
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