Malaysian NGOs protest Myanmar's membership<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysian non-governmental
\norganizations (NGOs) protested peacefully outside the foreign
\nministry here yesterday against the proposed admission of army-
\nruled Myanmar into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN).<\/p>\n
About a dozen activists wore black vests reading \"No SLORC,\"
\nreferring to Yangon's military junta, the State Law and Order
\nRestoration Council, during the protest on the eve of an ASEAN
\nministerial meeting here.<\/p>\n
They carried posters branding SLORC \"murderers, criminals and
\ndrug traffickers\" and calling on the military junta to \"respect
\n1990 election result.\"<\/p>\n
Another read: \"Down with SLORC, freedom to Burma.\"<\/p>\n
Burma is the former name of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
SLORC ignored results of a 1990 election in which the
\nopposition National League for Democracy, headed by Nobel peace
\nlaureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won by a landslide.<\/p>\n
The protesters, who held up a portrait of Suu Kyi, belong to
\nthe Burma Solidarity Group Malaysia, an umbrella body of 22 NGOs.
\nThey later submitted a memorandum to Malaysian Foreign Minister
\nAbdullah Ahmad Badawi.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is the current chairman of ASEAN, which also includes
\nBrunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
ASEAN foreign ministers meet here today to decide on the
\ntiming of the entry of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The three
\ncountries are expected to gain admission into ASEAN this year.<\/p>\n
ASEAN, rejecting Western moves to isolate Myanmar, prefers a
\npolicy of \"constructive engagement\" with the Yangon junta,
\ncombining quiet diplomacy and increased economic contact to bring
\nit into the international mainstream.<\/p>\n
In Manila the head of the Philippines Senate foreign relations
\ncommittee said yesterday that Myanmar should not be allowed to
\njoin ASEAN until its rulers ended their \"brutal repression\".<\/p>\n
\"The Senate foreign relations committee strongly condemned the
\nbrutal repression going on in Myanmar and demanded rectification
\nof this policy before Burma's admission to ASEAN could be
\nseriously considered,\" he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The Philippine government backs the consensus of ASEAN that
\nwhatever the practices of Myanmar's military rulers, the country
\nstands more chance of improving if it is brought into the group
\nthan isolated.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, or
\nSDP, has become the country's second political party to challenge
\nthe government to take a firm stand against the present military
\nregime, a party official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued to the media, the SDP also called on
\nASEAN not to admit Myanmar as a member during talks in Kuala
\nLumpur.<\/p>\n
\"The SLORC regime has shown complete disregard of human
\ndecency by continuing its brutal rule of the Burmese people,\" the
\nSDP statement said. \"The formal inclusion of the pariah regime
\nbrings not an ounce of good nor credibility to ASEAN.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-ngos-protest-myanmars-membership-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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