RI hopes to see Suu Kyi freed in October<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Indonesia stepped up the pressure on the Myanmar government to
\nrelease pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday,
\ndropping a hint that the Nobel laureate could be freed before the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) summit in October.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on
\nWednesday he fully believed that Myanmar was aware of the demands
\nfrom the international community for Suu Kyi's release.<\/p>\n
\"We hope Myanmar will release Aung San Suu Kyi before the
\nUnited Nations General Assembly and the ASEAN summit, and I
\nbelieve that Myanmar is also sensitive in that regard,\" Hassan
\nsaid on the sidelines of the Asia Africa Sub-Regional
\nOrganization Conference (AASROC), which ended on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The 58th General Assembly session opens on Sept. 16, and ASEAN
\nleaders will meet on Bali island from Oct. 7 to Oct. 8.<\/p>\n
Hassan indicated he had a solid reason for disclosing the time
\nframe, saying that during his discussions with his Myanmar
\ncounterpart U Win Aung, it was apparent that Yangon understood
\nthe possible backlash should Suu Kyi be kept in custody.<\/p>\n
The detention of Suu Kyi since May 30 has become a major test
\ncase for the solidarity of ASEAN, and also the leadership of
\nIndonesia, as some of organization's founders, like Malaysia and
\nThailand, seem to be very impatient with Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Major countries, including the United States and Japan, have
\nthreatened to impose economic sanctions on the impoverished
\ncountry if it fails to free Suu Kyi immediately.<\/p>\n
There is little doubt that the neighboring ASEAN countries
\nwill be among the first to suffer if the security situation
\nworsens in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, as the chair of ASEAN, has been trying to bridge
\nthe gap between Myanmar and the rest of the world regarding the
\ndetention of Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Win Aung met with President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta
\non Monday en route to the AASROC meeting.<\/p>\n
When asked to comment on Hassan's statement, Win Aung looked
\nsurprised, saying that not once had his government set a specific
\ntime frame for the release of the opposition leader.<\/p>\n
\"What I told him (Hassan) is the same as what I told you, we
\nhave no intention of prolonging (the detention). That's all,\" he
\nsaid while on his way to the conference plenary session.<\/p>\n
ASEAN had earlier proposed the sending of a delegation of
\nsenior officials to Myanmar to facilitate the release of Suu Kyi
\nand push for democratization in that country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia also plans to send special envoy Ali Alatas to meet
\nGen. Than Swee and convey a personal message from President
\nMegawati regarding the situation in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Hassan said that the two plans remained on the table as the
\nASEAN member countries continued to wait for Myanmar's response
\nto the proposals.<\/p>\n
Hassan said that ASEAN had no desire to harm Myanmar nor to
\ninterfere with its domestic problems.<\/p>\n
\"We will be very happy if they (Myanmar) could do this on
\ntheir own, but we all know that there is a gap in perceptions.
\nThat's why we need to engage in quiet diplomacy with them,\" the
\nIndonesian minister said.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Win Aung told Reuters that Myanmar's ruling
\ngenerals wanted to resolve the impasse themselves, although he
\nwould not say whether he rejected the mediation offers outright.<\/p>\n
Human rights group Amnesty International failed on Wednesday
\nto deliver a petition calling for the release of detained pro-
\ndemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the Myanmar Embassy here, an
\nAFP correspondent at the scene reported.<\/p>\n
The gates of the mission remained firmly closed as a group of
\naround 30 people, including 20 Myanmar refugees, gathered outside
\nhoping to hand in a petition seeking the immediate release of Suu
\nKyi and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).<\/p>\n
\"We have gathered about 23,000 signatures of support and we
\nwant to present them now to the Myanmar officials at the embassy
\nto protest against the attacks of May 30,\" said Amnesty
\nInternational Japan campaigner Sonoko Kawakami.<\/p>\n
Red Cross officials, allowed to meet Suu Kyi for the first
\ntime since her detention two months ago, said on Tuesday she was
\nin good health and high spirits.<\/p>\n
Myanmar's military has ruled the country since a 1962 coup,
\nand has persistently ignored a 1990 election victory by the NLD.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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