Myanmar's PM braves critics at summit<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post,
\nNusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
Myanmar's ruling junta will send Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyut
\nto the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual
\nsummit, which begins on Tuesday, despite heavy diplomatic
\npressure from within and outside of ASEAN to free Aung San Suu
\nKyi.<\/p>\n
As of Friday evening, the only concession the Myanmar generals
\nhad made as a response to the ASEAN leaders's demand for her
\nrelease was to put the popular opposition leader under house
\narrest after being discharged from the hospital last week.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed earlier pointed out
\nthe possibility of ousting Myanmar from ASEAN if the junta
\ncontinued its extrajudicial detention of the daughter of
\nMyanmar's first post-independence leader Aung San.<\/p>\n
Unlike his previously harsh stance on Suu Kyi's release,
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda on Friday insisted
\nthat although the military was refusing to release Suu Kyi, it
\n"had made significant progress" in dealing with her as well as
\nstrides toward democratic development.<\/p>\n
The minister also insisted that Khin Nyut's presence in Bali
\nhad no relation at all with Suu Kyi's status, although he also
\nconceded there could be some negative fallout if they did not
\nrelease Suu Kyi before Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"As ASEAN chairman, we are of the opinion that Myanmar has
\nmade progressive steps, when Myanmar announced its 'Road Map to
\nDemocracy and Reconciliation' and allowed Suu Kyi to return
\nhome," Hassan said after his arrival in Bali.<\/p>\n
President Megawati's special envoy, former foreign minister
\nAli Alatas recently returned from Yangon empty but failed to
\nconvince the junta to free Myanmar's democracy icon or even to
\nmeet with Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Minister Hassan last month visited Yangon to convey the
\nmessage from the other ASEAN foreign ministers about their
\nconcern over the Suu Kyi issue. At that time the Indonesian
\ngovernment was optimistic that the junta would eventually free
\nher before the Bali summit began.<\/p>\n
"It was an unfortunate coincidence that when on Sept. 21
\nMadame Suu Kyi was hospitalized, Pak Alatas could not meet with
\nher," the minister said when asked why Alatas had no access to
\nSuu Kyi while UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail was allowed to meet
\nwith her a few days ago.<\/p>\n
Hassan seemed to rationalize the otherwise negative impact of
\nhouse arrest for Suu Kyi, essentially arguing that because of her
\nhealth problems, she actually needed to stay longer at home in
\norder to recover.<\/p>\n
Hassan did not rule out the possibility that the ASEAN leaders
\nwould discuss Suu Kyi's status during their summit on Tuesday
\nalthough it is not part of the official agenda.<\/p>\n
In the meeting of the ASEAN leaders with Chinese Prime
\nMinister Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
\nSouth Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Indian Prime Minister
\nAtal Beehari Vajpayee, the issue will likely emerge too.<\/p>\n
Japan has threatened to cut financial assistance to the
\nimpoverished country if the military insisted on keeping Suu Kyi
\nlocked up.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hassan added that he was confident that the summit
\nwould fully endorse Indonesia's proposal for the establishment of
\nan ASEAN Security Community. And when the leaders meet again in
\nLaos next year they should be able to adopt a concrete action
\nplan to implement such a security arrangement.<\/p>\n
According to the minister it was not the time for ASEAN to
\nfocus not only on economic issues, but also political and
\nsecurity issues, which have been largely neglected at least since
\n1997 when the financial crisis hit the region.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, Hassan continued, strongly believed in a
\ncomprehensive security cooperation that would enable the regional
\ngrouping to settle regional problems more effectively without
\nbecoming a military pact.<\/p>\n
He further expressed confidence that the security community
\nwould finally bring Indonesia back to its rightful place as the
\nleader of the regional grouping, the position that the country
\nheld for more than 20 years during the tenure of former president
\nSoeharto.<\/p>\n
"We are aiming not just to chair ASEAN during the one-year
\npresidency, but also to lead the grouping in entering this new
\nhistorical period after the upcoming Summit," the minister
\nremarked.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/myanmars-pm-braves-critics-at-summit-1447893297",
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