No summit for Myanmar<\/p>\n
We urge the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) not to allow the leader of Myanmar's junta
\nto attend next week's ASEAN summit in Bali unless the generals in
\nYangon release prodemocracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi without
\ncondition before the summit commences.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, such a dramatic diplomatic step has never before
\nbeen taken in this region, but this newspaper is of the opinion
\nthat this is the price the junta should pay for its stubborn
\ndefiance in the face of repeated calls from ASEAN leaders to
\nrelease Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
The world will laugh at the regional grouping if ASEAN leaders
\nallow the junta leader to attend the summit in Bali while Suu Kyi
\nremains under house arrest in Yangon. Myanmar is not so important
\nto this region that the leaders have to risk their own
\ncredibility by laying out the red carpet for the junta.<\/p>\n
Myanmar's junta has humiliated both Indonesia and ASEAN with
\nits stubborn rejection of appeals by Indonesian President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the ASEAN chairwoman, to free
\nSuu Kyi after her discharge from the hospital last week.<\/p>\n
The President's special envoy, Ali Alatas, was not even
\nallowed to meet with Suu Kyi when he visited Yangon last week.
\nEven more insulting, in response to the President's call for her
\nfreedom, Suu Kyi was put under house arrest for third time since
\n1989.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Singapore's Prime
\nMinister Goh Chok Tong, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin
\nShinawatra and the Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
\nhave also demanded Suu Kyi's release.<\/p>\n
We praise President Megawati for her strong message on
\nMyanmar. Indonesia's leadership in ASEAN is at stake if she fails
\nto force Myanmar junta to fulfill the grouping's demands. Because
\nof her own experiences, it is not excessive to say that Megawati
\nunderstands better than any other regional leader the suffering
\nof being oppressed by an authoritarian regime.<\/p>\n
The military junta can no longer hide behind the pretext of
\nnoninterference because the problems caused by the junta no
\nlonger affect only the people of Myanmar, the majority of whom
\nvoted for Suu Kyi in 1990 elections.<\/p>\n
We wish to remind the junta in Yangon that they were the ones
\nwho confidently allowed Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
\n(NLD) party to contest the 1990 elections. They also were the
\nones who refused to hand over power to the NLD.<\/p>\n
The behavior of Myanmar's generals and their brutal oppression
\nof the opposition not only affects that country, but also its
\nneighbors. Amid the democratic reform in major member countries
\nsuch as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, the existence of
\na junta in this region tarnishes the positive ASEAN image.<\/p>\n
We hope that during the Bali summit the regional leaders can
\nconcentrate their discussions on strategic economic, political
\nand security issues, and that their concentration is not
\ndisrupted by \"irrelevant issues\" -- in the words of the highly
\nrespected diplomat Ali Alatas -- such as the junta's arrogance
\ntoward the more senior regional leaders.<\/p>\n
Myanmar's military regime still has a few days to act
\nresponsibly toward its neighbors. If they decide to continue
\ndefying ASEAN's demand, the group has no choice but to
\ndemonstrate that ASEAN is too important to be belittled by a
\ngroup of Myanmarese generals who want to maintain their grip on
\nthe country.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-summit-for-myanmar-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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