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