ARF meeting ends with no progress on Myanmar issue

ARF meeting ends with no progress on Myanmar issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Myanmar and the North Korean nuclear crisis dominated the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum
(ARF) on Friday.

For two days, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell demanded
that the junta halt its harsh treatment of Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, whose party won Myanmar's general election in 1990
only to have the junta void the results.

However, international pressure and sanctions do not seem to
have any success in changing the junta's behavior.

As Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said: "Myanmar
is used to living with limited sources, with or without
democratization problems."

At the end of the ARF meeting on Friday, the forum issued a
chairman's statement that simply repeated the stance on Myanmar
taken by ASEAN ministers on Wednesday.

"The ministers noted the briefing given by Myanmar and
discussed developments in Myanmar. The ministers recalled and
emphasized the continued relevance of the 10th ARF chairman's
statement. In this regard, the ministers underlined the need for
the involvement of all strata of Myanmar society in the ongoing
national convention," said the statement, which was read out by
Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda after closing the
meeting.

"The ministers urged Myanmar to take every action that will
add substance to the expression of its democratic aspirations.
The ministers also recognized the role of the special envoy of
the United Nations secretary-general in assisting Myanmar to
achieve this goal," the statement said.

Hassan said that after long discussions, overt criticisms of
Myanmar were removed from the statement because there are
numerous ways to express concern over the Myanmar issue.

"It does not means that countries like the United States are
satisfied with the explanation given by the Myanmar side, but
what else can they do. The U.S. has already imposed sanctions
against Myanmar since last year," Hassan said.

Meanwhile, on the issue of the Korean Peninsula, the ARF
meeting expressed support for dismantling North Korea's nuclear
program through peaceful dialog, and urged all parties to
continue with the Beijing talks.

"The ministers supported the parties' commitment to the goal
of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and underlined the
need to take first steps toward the goal as soon as possible.

"The ministers emphasized the importance of a step-by-step
process of 'words for words' and 'action for action' in search of
a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue," the chairman's
statement said.

All of the parties involved in talks on the nuclear crisis --
North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, the United States and
Russia -- sent ministers to the ARF meeting.

On the sidelines of the ARF conference, North Korea and South
Korea's foreign ministers held two bilateral meetings to prepare
for the next round of negotiations in September in Beijing.

The ARF meeting closed on Friday with a gala dinner and a
cultural performance attended by the ministers, including Powell,
Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing, Japan's foreign minister
Yoriko Kawaguchi and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The closing dinner is always much anticipated by the ARF
participants because the ministers are given the opportunity to
demonstrate their singing skills.

The forum was attended by the 10 ASEAN members and 13
countries from the Asia Pacific and the European Union.

Laos, the new chair of the regional grouping, will host the
ASEAN leaders' summit in November. The next ARF meeting will also
be held in Laos. (For more stories click National button