ASEAN asked to be braver about rights<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior political scientist is calling on the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to turn a
\nblind eye to human rights issues, even when they occur in
\nneighboring countries like Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Political scientist J. Soedjati Djiwandono said ASEAN \"should
\nbe braver\" in tackling human rights issues.<\/p>\n
\"Why don't we ask them to talk openly about this, rather than
\ntalking behind their backs instead,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He stressed that in issues of democracy and human rights,
\nASEAN must become more open.<\/p>\n
Only the Philippines and Thailand have recently made any
\nstatement of concern over Yangon's recent crackdown of rights
\nactivists while the other five members of ASEAN -- Brunei,
\nIndonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam -- have kept silent
\nover the incident.<\/p>\n
As a basic guideline, ASEAN members have almost staunchly
\nmaintained an absolute policy of \"non-interference\" in a fellow
\nmember's domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
Soedjati said that since Myanmar is a prospective member of
\nASEAN, countries like Indonesia should be able to approach Yangon
\nand discuss the matter in such a way that it would not be seen as
\nan intrusion into domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last
\nweek he would not comment on the matter \"because we would not
\nwant any foreign country to intervene in our internal affairs.\"<\/p>\n
Soedjati expressed skepticism at arguments of \"non-
\ninterference\" saying that it is probably just a self-defense
\nmechanism so others would not criticize Indonesia's own human
\nrights record.<\/p>\n
\"There's this impression that countries who won't talk about
\nhuman rights use the argument of having a separate concept, Asian
\nvalues and the like, as a mere excuse,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soedjati then quipped that it would also be rather odd for
\nIndonesia to scrutinize another country over its human rights
\nrecord while there still many similar diversions happening here.<\/p>\n
\"Who are we to criticize them, domestically when we're also in
\na mess,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In general he said it is difficult for ASEAN to talk about
\ndemocracy since there are many dilemmas and contradictions which
\nmake people quite dubious over the organization's efforts in that
\nfield.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes I'm cynical at seeing ASEAN pushing for elections
\nin Cambodia, for instance, while on the other hand knowing that
\nthere's never been one in Brunei,\" he said, adding that \"it's
\ndifficult to talk about democracy in ASEAN.\" (mds)<\/p>",
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