ASEAN grapples with democracy, human rights issues<\/p>\n
By Stephen Powell<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): When the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) admitted military-led Myanmar into its ranks last
\nyear, the group hardly seemed to be moving towards more open
\ndebate on democracy.<\/p>\n
Yet today ASEAN is publicly grappling with the issues of human
\nrights and democracy to an extent it never has done before --
\npartly because of the admission of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
At a two-day meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers which ended
\nlast Saturday, Thailand and the Philippines pushed for a fuller
\ndiscussion of controversial issues, from democracy to the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
\"Like it or not, the issues of democracy and human rights are
\nthose that we have to increasingly deal with in our engagement
\nwith the outside world,\" Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan
\ntold the conference.<\/p>\n
\"How are we going to put ourselves on the offensive rather
\nthan always be on the receiving end?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
One reason why ASEAN is on the receiving end over human rights
\nis the presence in the organization of Myanmar, whose military
\nrulers crushed a pro-democracy movement with heavy loss of life a
\ndecade ago and have held on to power ever since.<\/p>\n
The lack of progress towards national reconciliation in
\nMyanmar was a constraint on ASEAN, Australian Foreign Minister
\nAlexander Downer told a news conference in Manila.<\/p>\n
He said many in ASEAN were trying to push for reconciliation
\nbetween the military government, the State Peace and Development
\nCouncil (SPDC), and the pro-democracy movement led by Nobel Peace
\nPrize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
\"I know that many in ASEAN are anxious to see a focus on
\nMyanmar because they know that the problems in Myanmar are
\ncausing difficulties for ASEAN as a whole, for example in the
\ncontext of ASEAN's dialogue with the European Union,\" Downer
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"That is constrained, inhibited by the problems in Myanmar
\nbecause of the European Union's stand against Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\"So there is a problem for ASEAN and they know it's a problem
\nand they're worried about it. I think it is fair to say that many
\nof the ASEAN countries are doing their best to try to encourage
\nthe SPDC to take things forward, as are we.\"<\/p>\n
Thailand's Surin delighted human rights campaigners in Asia
\nwith his stance on democracy.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN is in danger of turning into a club of fossilized golf
\nplayers if it ignores Dr Surin's comments,\" said a pressure group
\ncalled the Alternative ASEAN Network on Myanmar.<\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders have a much-satirized fondness for golf --
\nCambodian Second Prime Minister Hun Sen has joked about his need
\nto improve his golf if Cambodia is admitted into ASEAN.<\/p>\n
Cambodia also highlights ASEAN's increased concern with human
\nrights. The group is keenly watching Sunday's elections in
\nCambodia and will admit the country into its ranks if the
\nelections are deemed to be fair.<\/p>\n
This policy is a departure from tradition, since ASEAN has not
\nnormally linked membership with free elections.<\/p>\n
Cambodia was originally due to enter ASEAN last year, but
\nASEAN put the admission on hold after strongman Hun Sen ousted
\nfirst prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh in a bloody coup.<\/p>\n
In Manila, Thailand won agreement in ASEAN that henceforth
\nthere would be \"enhanced interaction\" on big issues with trans-
\nboundary implications, though the association's hallowed
\nprinciple of non-interference in members' internal affairs would
\nstill operate.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore spoke out strongly against
\nthe Thai proposals for so-called \"flexible engagement\" and
\nanalysts said that what emerged was a compromise.<\/p>\n
\"I would say it is a sort of a compromise,\" political science
\nprofessor Lee Lai To of the National University of Singapore told
\nReuters by telephone.<\/p>\n
\"Some countries will have great reservations in accepting this
\napproach,\" he said of the new guidelines. \"Some of the issues are
\nvery sensitive.\"<\/p>\n
He cited Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia as countries which
\nwould find the new approach difficult.<\/p>\n
But he said \"enhanced interaction\" was a vague phrase allowing
\ndifferences of interpretation. \"You can play with the phrase
\nactually,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The debate in Manila touched some raw nerves. Malaysian
\nForeign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in a speech to the
\nconference: \"The fundamental ASEAN principle of non-interference
\nin the internal affairs of member states is now under
\nscrutiny... To abandon this time-honored principle would set us
\non the path towards eventual disintegration.\"<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
A year of crisis in Asia, with currencies crashing and
\nunemployment soaring, has supplied the broad backdrop to the
\ndebate on openness in ASEAN. Many seem to feel that avoiding
\ntouchy issues is a luxury ASEAN countries can no longer afford.<\/p>\n
\"The times are too critical to waste time and spare feelings,\"
\ncolumnist Beth Day Romulo wrote in a commentary on the debate in
\nthe Manila Bulletin daily.<\/p>",
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