ASEAN proposes quiet diplomacy to release Suu Kyi<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Indonesia, as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN), is set to engage in quiet diplomacy to defuse
\nthe ongoing stand-off in Myanmar, foreign minister Hassan
\nWirayuda said.<\/p>\n
Hassan asserted that a closed-door approach would be more
\neffective in urging the Myanmarese military government to bow to
\ninternational demand for the immediate release of pro-democracy
\nopposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that the involvement of Indonesia in quiet
\ndiplomacy will be more effective in ensuring the release of Aung
\nSan Suu Kyi,\" Hassan said here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Hassan is attending the Asia-Africa Sub-Regional Organization
\nConference (AASROC) in Bandung, in which Myanmarese foreign
\nminister Win Aung is participating.<\/p>\n
He had accompanied President Megawati Soekarnoputri in meeting
\nWin Aung earlier in the day in Jakarta, before traveling to
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
No significant progress ensued from the talks, as Win Aung, a
\nspecial envoy sent by the military junta, failed to set a
\ntimeframe for the release of Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Asked by reporters if Suu Kyi would be freed, Win Aung
\nreplied, \"Yes of course. She will not remain there for a long
\nperiod.\"<\/p>\n
Hassan said the Indonesian government had sent a letter to the
\nMyanmar junta informing them of the planned dispatch of former
\nforeign minister Ali Alatas. Alatas is set to convey special
\nmessages from President Megawati regarding the worsening
\nsituation after the arrest of 1991 Nobel laureate Suu Kyi on May
\n30.<\/p>\n
\"Myanmar agrees to open a direct dialog channel with
\nIndonesia, without an open debate regarding the ongoing process
\nof reconciliation in the country,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He also said ASEAN had been hoping that Win Aung's visit would
\nresult in the release of Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi was detained after she and her supporters, who had
\nbeen making a political tour, were ambushed by a pro-government
\nmob in an incident feared to have left dozens dead.<\/p>\n
Myanmar's military junta says it is holding Suu Kyi for her
\nown safety, but has come under strong pressure even from fellow
\nASEAN members, as she continues to be held under protective
\ncustody.<\/p>\n
Win Aung, speaking after meeting Megawati, said Suu Kyi was
\n\"well looked after.\"<\/p>\n
He said he brought a message from junta chief Gen. Than Shwe
\nthat Myanmar was doing what it could to normalize the situation
\nbefore releasing Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Win Aung said his country was in a \"cool-down period.\"<\/p>\n
\"Of course, there's no intention from us to prolong this,\" he
\nsaid as quoted by Agence France-Presse. Asked how long the cool-
\ndown period would last, the foreign minister replied, \"It depends
\non ... how hot it is.\"<\/p>\n
Win Aung said Megawati understood Myanmar's problems and
\nexpressed her hope that the country could solve them. \"She has
\nonly goodwill toward our country.\"<\/p>\n
Although ASEAN has generally stayed away from its members'
\ndomestic affairs, the controversy over the incident that prompted
\nSuu Kyi's arrest, as well as her continued detention, has caused
\na furor among the region's leaders.<\/p>\n
Last month, ASEAN issued an unprecedented call for Suu Kyi's
\nrelease, while Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who
\nhelped bring Myanmar into ASEAN in 1997, went one step further by
\nwarning that it could face expulsion from the grouping as a last
\nresort.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministers from Asia and Europe last week urged the
\njunta to \"immediately release\" Suu Kyi and resume efforts towards
\nnational reconciliation and democracy.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, UN envoy on Myanmar Razali Ismail to The
\nAssociated Press on Monday, \"The United Nations and ASEAN should
\ncoordinate their efforts to send similar signals that Aung San
\nSuu Kyi should be released immediately and the reconciliation
\nprocess should move forward.\"<\/p>",
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