ASEAN asked to be braver about rights

ASEAN asked to be braver about rights

JAKARTA (JP): A senior political scientist is calling on the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to turn a
blind eye to human rights issues, even when they occur in
neighboring countries like Myanmar.

Political scientist J. Soedjati Djiwandono said ASEAN "should
be braver" in tackling human rights issues.

"Why don't we ask them to talk openly about this, rather than
talking behind their backs instead," he told The Jakarta Post.

He stressed that in issues of democracy and human rights,
ASEAN must become more open.

Only the Philippines and Thailand have recently made any
statement of concern over Yangon's recent crackdown of rights
activists while the other five members of ASEAN -- Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam -- have kept silent
over the incident.

As a basic guideline, ASEAN members have almost staunchly
maintained an absolute policy of "non-interference" in a fellow
member's domestic affairs.

Soedjati said that since Myanmar is a prospective member of
ASEAN, countries like Indonesia should be able to approach Yangon
and discuss the matter in such a way that it would not be seen as
an intrusion into domestic affairs.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last
week he would not comment on the matter "because we would not
want any foreign country to intervene in our internal affairs."

Soedjati expressed skepticism at arguments of "non-
interference" saying that it is probably just a self-defense
mechanism so others would not criticize Indonesia's own human
rights record.

"There's this impression that countries who won't talk about
human rights use the argument of having a separate concept, Asian
values and the like, as a mere excuse," he said.

Soedjati then quipped that it would also be rather odd for
Indonesia to scrutinize another country over its human rights
record while there still many similar diversions happening here.

"Who are we to criticize them, domestically when we're also in
a mess," he said.

In general he said it is difficult for ASEAN to talk about
democracy since there are many dilemmas and contradictions which
make people quite dubious over the organization's efforts in that
field.

"Sometimes I'm cynical at seeing ASEAN pushing for elections
in Cambodia, for instance, while on the other hand knowing that
there's never been one in Brunei," he said, adding that "it's
difficult to talk about democracy in ASEAN." (mds)