EBO “Burma News” 9 August 2003
News Summary:
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reforms in
uprising.
"The parallels between that horrible
day 15 years ago and the May 30th,
2003 attack on pro-democracy demonstrators
that led to Aung San Suu Kyi's
arrest are disturbing," Canadian Foreign
Minister Bill Graham said in a
statement.
The anniversary passed quietly in
government stood on high alert for any sign of
dissent.
Clashes in northern
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She remains in custody.
"To break this cycle of violence and
mistrust,
to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and
her colleagues and to engage in a
substantial dialogue on democratic reform and
national reconciliation," Graham
said.
Last month, Graham announced measures
against
to protest the regime's detention of Aung
San Suu Kyi.
members of the regime and restricted travel of
its diplomats while in
The measures responded "to the lack
of a genuine commitment by
military regime to initiate a transition to
democracy," said Canadian
Secretary of State for
the Asia-Pacific region David Kilgour.
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needed more time to study a Thai plan for
democratic transition in the country,
which has earned worldwide condemnation over
the detention of opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Home grown solution is the best to
solve domestic problems. But we don't reject
the roadmap," Myanmar Foreign Minister
Win Aung said when asked by Reuters
what the
"However, it is rather complicated
and we need to take time to study it," he said.
Aung said
The Thai government has not publicly
released details of the plan but diplomats
say it involves the immediate release of Suu
Kyi and talks between
military rulers, Suu Kyi's party and ethnic
groups.
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Changes vital before
By Achara Ashayagachat
Asean would be meaningless if the regional
grouping could not bring about
changes in
a seminar marking its 36th anniversary.
Chart Thai party deputy leader Kobsak Chutikul said the
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean)
should make
the regional grouping now rested on changes
in that country.
Asean faced no threat more serious than the
a turning point in revitalising the grouping if it could
show the world that it
defused the problem by itself, said Mr Kobsak, vice-chairman of the House
committee on foreign affairs.
one of Asean's
weakest links.
Asean members as well as
influential nations such as
“
we have to do it in a very diplomatic way,
not to make them feel pressured.
We also have to consider how to contain
any damage caused by our actions,''
said the political scientist.
Thanat Khoman, the
only living Asean founding member, said
ignore external pressure brought to bear against
its policy on
The former deputy prime minister and
foreign minister said
had to embrace the pressure.
“We just have to think of the best paths
for our nation. If (
suggestions or help, then we should offer them but we
should not meddle in the
affairs of other countries, since their freedom
and sovereignty is a matter of their
own people.''
Mr Thanat said
it was too early to say if
“I just hope that Asean
will not fall apart since it is the only organisation that helps
Mr Kobsak said Asean should be rebuilt before
period rather than putting its resources into
creating a new regional body
(the
He suggested that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra should even go further
in regionalising his populist policies to
attract international attention to t
he fading organisation.
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