Washington barks at ASEAN over Myanmar<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Washington<\/p>\n
The United States on Wednesday pointedly disagreed with the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s assessment of
\nrecent \"positive developments\" in Myanmar and flatly rejected
\nASEAN's call for a road map to national reconciliation.<\/p>\n
The State Department said it saw no \"positive developments\" to
\nspeak of in Myanmar, which used to be called Burma, noting the
\ncontinued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
\nmany members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).<\/p>\n
And, spokesman Richard Boucher maintained that unless and
\nuntil the military rulers in Yangon opened a dialog with the
\nopposition -- the NLD and Myanmar's many ethnic minorities -- a
\nroad map for reconciliation was pointless.<\/p>\n
\"We know what they (ASEAN) said,\" he told reporters when asked
\nabout a statement released by the 10-nation grouping after a
\nsummit in Indonesia on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We know they called for a road map, we know they noted quote-
\nunquote positive developments,\" Boucher said. \"We don't see those
\nand we don't see any need for a road map unless it has the full
\nparticipation of the opposition.\"<\/p>\n
\"No proposal for a road map is meaningful without the full
\nparticipation of the democratic opposition,\" he said. \"That for
\nus is the way forward, that for us is the only way forward.\"<\/p>\n
At the summit in Indonesia, Myanmar won praise rather than
\ncensure for \"recent positive developments\" despite calls from
\nsome of its ASEAN colleagues to free Suu Kyi before the meeting.<\/p>\n
In addition, the ASEAN leaders said in the statement that
\nsweeping trade sanctions slapped on Myanmar by the United States
\nand others \"are not helpful in promoting peace and stability
\nessential for democracy to take root.\"<\/p>\n
The United States in August imposed a blanket trade ban on
\nMyanmar after Suu Kyi was detained at an undisclosed location
\nfollowing a bloody clash between her supporters and pro-junta
\ndemonstrators on May 30.<\/p>\n
The Nobel peace laureate was admitted to hospital on Sept. 17
\nfor surgery and was transferred from there to house arrest on
\nSept. 26. It is her third period of house arrest since the late
\n1980s but the junta is portraying her current status as a
\npositive and planned development.<\/p>\n
Boucher said the United States was not about to change its
\npolicy on Myanmar because of the ASEAN statement or Yangon's
\n\"road map\" outline for national reconciliation.<\/p>\n
\"Our stance toward the Burmese military junta has not
\nchanged,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Aung San Suu Kyi and all others detained for peaceful
\nexpression of political views should be released immediately and
\nunconditionally,\" Boucher said, calling for the reopening of NLD
\noffices and the start of real dialogue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/washington-barks-at-asean-over-myanmar-1447893297",
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