RP foreign minister meets Myanmar's Suu Kyi<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AP): Philippines Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon met
\nwith Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her Yangon
\nhome last week, a diplomat in Yangon said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Siazon is the highest-ranking government official from a
\nSoutheast Asian nation ever to meet the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
\nwinner.<\/p>\n
Access to Suu Kyi is strictly controlled by Myanmar's military
\ngovernment, which kept her under house arrest from 1989 to 1995
\nfor her campaign to bring democracy to the country.<\/p>\n
Siazon, who traveled to Myanmar with Philippine President
\nFidel Ramos and a delegation of government and business officials
\nlast week, met Suu Kyi for lunch at her lakeside home, shortly
\nafter Ramos had left for Laos.<\/p>\n
Siazon was accompanied by Sen. Alberto Romulo.<\/p>\n
Ramos had requested permission from Myanmar's military
\ngovernment to see Suu Kyi during his visit, but when the Myanmar
\ngovernment did not respond, he dropped the matter.<\/p>\n
But Southeast Asian diplomats in Yangon confirmed that the
\nmeeting had taken place and said that although it was termed a
\n\"social visit\", they viewed it as a positive development.<\/p>\n
No details of the meeting were divulged and attempts to reach
\nSuu Kyi yesterday were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Myanmar was admitted this July to the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) despite concerns over its poor human rights
\nrecord and suppression of the democracy movement.<\/p>\n
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
\nthe Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi has frequently criticized ASEAN's policy of
\nconstructive engagement, which advocates persuading the Myanmar
\nmilitary to reform through increased business and diplomatic
\nties.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi said the policy was flawed because ASEAN was only
\nengaging one side in Myanmar's civil conflict, namely the
\nmilitary. Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 election by a landslide, but
\nthe military refused to honor the results.<\/p>\n
No other ASEAN leader or foreign minister has made any attempt
\nto meet Suu Kyi since she rose to prominence in 1988 by leading
\nthe democracy movement.<\/p>\n
Recently, some ASEAN politicians, such as Malaysia's Deputy
\nPrime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, have spoken of a need to move
\nbeyond constructive engagement to constructive involvement or
\nintervention.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged
\nMyanmar's generals to open a dialogue with Suu Kyi when he
\nvisited Yangon in August to confirm ASEAN membership on Myanmar.<\/p>\n
The generals have refused to meet with Suu Kyi.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-foreign-minister-meets-myanmars-suu-kyi-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }