Myanmar issue will not go away<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia says the Myanmar issue will not overshadow the upcoming
\nAssociation of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Bali as
\nall member countries have hailed recent developments in the
\nmilitary-ruled country.<\/p>\n
However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said
\nWednesday that Indonesia hoped further steps would be taken by
\nMyanmar to fully release prodemocratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi
\nbefore the Summit begins on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n
\"Myanmar fully understands the expectations of Indonesia and
\nother ASEAN member countries and we see the current house arrest
\nstatus for Suu Kyi as a positive gesture by the junta,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"All ASEAN member countries appreciate the recent developments
\nin Myanmar and we will focus on the ASEAN agenda.\"<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists after a limited Cabinet meeting
\npresided over by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Hassan
\nexpressed hope that Suu Kyi would be released before the summit.<\/p>\n
\"Even if there are no further steps, Prime Minister Khin Nyunt
\ncan use the opportunity of the Summit to explain the recent
\nsituation in his country,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, has been pressuring
\nMyanmar to release Suu Kyi immediately, saying her arrest should
\nnot overshadow the meeting.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's special envoy Ali Alatas has just returned from
\nMyanmar to push for the democratization process in the country,
\nincluding the release of Suu Kyi, who was arrested on May 30.<\/p>\n
After Alatas' visit, she was placed under house arrest after
\nundergoing major surgery.<\/p>\n
\"The upcoming Summit will be a good opportunity for Myanmar to
\nfurther disclose its democratization road map to other ASEAN
\nmembers,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Yangon, United Nations special envoy to Myanmar
\nRazali Ismail met Suu Kyi at her house, the first independent
\nfigure to see her since her shift to house arrest last week.<\/p>\n
Razali entered the democracy icon's famous lakeside home on
\nUniversity Avenue after spending an hour in separate talks with
\nKhin Nyunt, Agence France-Presse reported.<\/p>\n
Razali is on a crucial three-day mission to Myanmar to secure
\nthe release of Suu Kyi and to restart the national reconciliation
\nprocess abandoned earlier this year.<\/p>\n
He now faces the difficult task of reviving the contacts and
\nadvancing a seven-point \"roadmap\" for democratic reform unveiled
\nby Khin Nyunt in August.<\/p>\n
Singapore called on Wednesday for Myanmar to lift all
\nrestrictions on Suu Kyi and said her plight would be raised at
\nthe Bali meeting.<\/p>\n
\"All restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi should be lifted so that
\nthe national reconciliation process can move forward,\" a foreign
\naffairs ministry spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Hassan said the Summit would issue a document on Bali Concord
\nII, which would draw up the concepts of the ASEAN Security
\nCommunity, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Social and Cultural
\nCommunity.<\/p>\n
\"This will be a historical leap for ASEAN, and it will be a
\nnew blueprint for the regional grouping until 2020.\"<\/p>\n
Hassan said the concepts of the document had been agreed by
\nall ASEAN foreign ministers during their previous meeting in New
\nYork.<\/p>\n
\"There are only a few details that will be further discussed
\nduring meetings between senior officials and ministers ahead of
\nthe Summit next week.\"<\/p>\n
Several other documents that will be signed at the meeting
\ninclude those on the accession of China and India at the ASEAN
\nTreaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), an antiterrorism agreement
\nbetween ASEAN and India, a strategic partnership between ASEAN
\nand China, as well as an agreement of cooperation between ASEAN
\nand Japan.<\/p>\n
\"Russia has originally been scheduled to join TAC at the
\nsummit, but due to the approval process from their parliament,
\nthe accession should wait until June next year,\" Hassan added.<\/p>\n
A series of meetings will begin on Thursday and 14 heads of
\nstates, including Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and
\nChinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, are expected to attend the
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will also host the first ever ASEAN Business and
\nInvestment Summit on Oct. 6 following the informal meetings,
\naimed at opening communications among ASEAN businesspeople.<\/p>\n
The Bali Summit will be guarded by around 5,000 security
\nforces to prevent possible disruptions.<\/p>",
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