Yangoon's coolness disappoints Mega<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, New York<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri expressed disappointment on
\nWednesday (Thursday Jakarta time) at the cool response from
\nMyanmar to the visit of special envoy Ali Alatas early this week
\nto secure the release of prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Briefing the press in New York before leaving for a two-day
\nvisit to Tunisia, Megawati said the visit of her special envoy to
\nMyanmar failed to secure the release of the opposition leader.<\/p>\n
She also urged the military junta to come up with a better
\narrangement to ensure the democratization process in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The message that I sent to them was clear, that is we want
\nthe democratization process in Myanmar to continue and Madam Suu
\nKyi released before the upcoming ASEAN summit, slated to begin on
\nOct. 7,\" the President said.<\/p>\n
\"The road map for democracy and reconciliation in Myanmar that
\nthey presented has no clear direction or time frame. So there is
\na possibility of me sending Ali Alatas to the country for a
\nsecond time,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
The President said she would summon Ali Alatas for a report on
\nresults of his trip to Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\"I would like to hear more details of his visit, which I heard
\nwas warmly welcomed by Myanmar authorities,\" Megawati stressed.<\/p>\n
As the chair of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations
\n(ASEAN), in which Myanmar is also a member, Indonesia has become
\nthe focal point for all member countries to pressure Myanmar to
\nrelease Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Ali Alatas traveled to Myanmar last Sunday to campaign for the
\nrelease of Suu Kyi, who has been detained since June. He met with
\nMyanmar leaders but failed to meet Suu Kyi face to face.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has repeatedly said that Suu Kyi should be released
\nbefore the ASEAN Summit in Bali early next month.<\/p>\n
Major countries such as the United States and Japan have
\nthreatened to impose sanctions on Myanmar, while fellow ASEAN
\nmember Malaysia has proposed expelling the country from the
\nregional grouping.<\/p>\n
The President also said the Myanmar issue was one of the
\ntopics of discussion in her meeting with United Nations
\nSecretary-General Kofi Annan.<\/p>\n
\"Secretary-General Annan would like to hear about the recent
\ndevelopment in the Southeast Asia region in dealing with the
\nMyanmar issue,\" Megawati disclosed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Suu Kyi's doctor said on Thursday that she would be
\ndischarged from the hospital in \"a day or two\", but it was
\nunclear if she would be detained again, put under house arrest or
\nbe freed.<\/p>\n
Nor was it clear whether stepped up pressure from neighbors on
\nMyanmar military rulers to end Suu Kyi's nearly four-month
\nisolation would have any impact. A Thai envoy talked to them on
\nThursday, a day after Alatas left empty-handed.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot definitely say the date she will be discharged, but
\nit will be in a day or two,\" Dr. Tin Myo Win announced at the
\nprivate Yangon hospital where Suu Kyi is recuperating after major
\nsurgery for gynecological problems last week.<\/p>\n
Asked where she would be taken to convalesce, Tin Myo Win
\nsaid, \"It's the concern of the authorities, but I have told them
\nI need to be in touch with her for another one or two months and
\nthe authorities have agreed to it.\"<\/p>\n
There is concern that attendees of next month's ASEAN summit
\ncould be embarrassed if the military keeps the 1991 Nobel Peace
\nPrize winner, whose plight has sparked international outrage and
\nWestern sanctions, isolated.<\/p>\n
The 10-member ASEAN, one of the few groups willing to have
\nMyanmar as a member, will meet on Bali. Usually loathe to
\ncriticize the internal affairs of its members, the group issued a
\nsharp rebuke to Yangon after Suu Kyi was detained on May 30
\nfollowing a bloody clash between her supporters and government
\nbackers.<\/p>\n
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said on Wednesday the
\ngroup's credibility and image would take a knock if it did not
\nexpress concern over Myanmar's actions.<\/p>\n
However, he did not expect a serious effort in Bali to expel
\nMyanmar.<\/p>",
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