Washington regrets ASEAN decision to accept Myanmar<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Agencies): The United States said Sunday it
\nregretted the decision by Southeast Asian states to invite
\nMyanmar to join their regional grouping.<\/p>\n
The State Department acknowledged the make-up of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was an internal
\nmatter for member states to make.<\/p>\n
"Nonetheless, we regret that ASEAN appears to have invited
\nMyanmar to join its organization at this time," a department
\nspokeswoman, Julie Reside, said.<\/p>\n
Myanmar, along with Cambodia and Laos, won admission to the
\nregional grouping Saturday at an ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting
\nin Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
The Clinton administration has pressed for isolation of
\nMyanmar's military junta until it stops repressing the pro-
\ndemocratic opposition. The junta, the State Law and Order
\nRestoration Council (SLORC), blocked Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel
\npeace laureate, from taking power after her party won a landslide
\nvictory in 1990 elections.<\/p>\n
The State Department said it was counting on ASEAN members to
\nurge SLORC to enter into a "productive dialog" with domestic
\ndemocratic forces and cease actions that undermine regional
\nstability.<\/p>\n
"Our concerns about the SLORC's policies are well known,"
\nReside said. "It has violated the rights of its own citizens and
\ntaken actions that undermine stability in the region by producing
\nrefugee flows and allowing Myanmar to remain a major source of
\nnarcotics."<\/p>\n
She added that ASEAN shared these concerns "and, like the
\nUnited States, wanted to see them addressed."<\/p>\n
ASEAN is made up of Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines,
\nSingapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam. The three newly invited
\nstates will formally become members in July.<\/p>\n
Washington, citing "severe repression," imposed economic
\nsanctions on Myanmar last month over the military government's
\nrights record and treatment of the democracy activists. ASEAN has
\nrejected Washington's stance and branded it as interference in
\nthe grouping's internal affairs.<\/p>\n
Restriction<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Yangon, Myanmar's ruling junta ended its latest
\nclampdown against supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
\nKyi and begun releasing those detained over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n
Restrictions imposed on members of the opposition leader's
\nNational League for Democracy (NLD) were lifted Saturday
\nfollowing the military government's drive to prevent an NLD party
\ncongress last week, security sources said.<\/p>\n
NLD sources here confirmed the junta had lifted the
\nrestrictions and started releasing supporters detained in the
\nrun-up to last week's attempted meeting.<\/p>\n
The NLD has said up to 316 of its supporters were detained or
\nconfined to their homes ahead of the meeting called to mark the
\nseventh anniversary of the NLD's landslide victory in abortive
\nelections here.<\/p>\n
About 1,200 supporters were invited to the two-day meeting
\nheld at Aung San Suu Kyi's Rangoon home, but only a handful were
\nable to make the gathering.<\/p>\n
The ruling SLORC has denied that any NLD members had been
\ndetained in the campaign.<\/p>",
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