ASEAN turns up heat on Yangon over Suu Kyi cases<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta\/Kuala Lumpur\/Bangkok<\/p>\n
The continued detention of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung
\nSan Suu Kyi would damage ASEAN and the matter should be resolved
\nas soon as possible, Indonesia said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I think with time the longer this issue is allowed to remain
\nunresolved, the more it would constitute a setback, not only to
\nthe reconciliation process in Myanmar itself, but also a setback
\nto ASEAN...indirectly\", Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman,
\nMarty Natalegawa, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
He was responding to a report quoting Malaysian Prime Minister
\nMahathir Mohamad as saying Myanmar might be expelled from the 10-
\nmember Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if its
\ngenerals did not free Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Natalegawa would not directly address the expulsion issue but
\nsaid Indonesia, the grouping's current chairman, was expecting a
\nmeeting with a special envoy from Myanmar very soon to respond to
\nASEAN concerns.<\/p>\n
He said ASEAN's consensus on Myanmar had been reflected at the
\nlast meeting of the group's foreign ministers in the Cambodian
\ncapital last month.<\/p>\n
\"The ASEAN position as reached in Phnom Penh is that the
\nMyanmar government has promised to respond to the ASEAN position
\nand in the coming days we anticipate the Myanmar special envoy to
\ndeliver a response,\" said Natalegawa.<\/p>\n
Mahathir played a big role in Myanmar's admission to ASEAN in
\n1997, arguing then that Asian-style engagement with the junta
\nwould be more appropriate than Western pressure.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said
\nthat Myanmar's ruling junta needs to free the pro-democracy
\nleader soon or risk a crisis that could lead to its expulsion
\nfrom the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
\"Whether ASEAN is willing to take that step is something - we
\nhave to see what Myanmar does during this period,\" Syed Hamid
\nsaid in an interview. \"The crucial thing is releasing Suu Kyi.\"<\/p>\n
The Yangon government took the Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi
\ninto \"protective custody\" in late May after a clash between her
\nsupporters and a pro-government group, provoking condemnation by
\nthe United Nations, Western countries and major aid donor Japan.<\/p>\n
Since then, Myanmar has shrugged off international outrage
\nover her detention, including threats of more Western sanctions.
\nBut its action provoked a rare rebuke from fellow ASEAN members,
\nusually loath to criticize one another in public, during the
\nmeeting in Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Last week, Thailand proposed a \"road map\" for democratic
\nchange in Myanmar but spoke out against U.S. sanctions plans.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) swept to victory
\nin 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power.<\/p>\n
Thailand on Monday rejected Malaysia's warning that Myanmar
\ncould be expelled from the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations, saying the military junta should be given more time to
\nachieve democracy.<\/p>\n
In separate comments, Thailand's prime minister and foreign
\nminister made it clear that they do not agree with the hardline
\ncomments from Malaysia's leadership.
\n \"I think we should give them (Myanmar's generals) more time to
\ndemonstrate their sincerity in returning to the process of
\nnational reconciliation and pushing for development of a
\ndemocratic system in their country,\" Prime Minister Thaksin
\nShinawatra told reporters.<\/p>\n
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai also said he
\ndisagreed with the option of the 10-nation ASEAN expelling
\nMyanmar.<\/p>\n
\"I personally think ASEAN shouldn't sanction Myanmar,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
\"The government's refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi was
\nprobably a safety issue ... Every time I have met with Myanmar's
\nforeign minister, he has assured me that her detention is
\ntemporary,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We need to give Myanmar some time,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Under Thaksin's rule in the past two years, Thailand has been
\nhighly supportive of the junta. Previous Thai governments were
\nsometimes critical of its western neighbor.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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