ASEAN can deal with Myanmar, says Anwar

ASEAN can deal with Myanmar, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Acting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed ASEAN's decision yesterday to admit Myanmar, saying the grouping has "adequate experience" to deal with the army-ruled state.

Anwar said all seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were aware of the U.S. protest through trade sanctions against Myanmar but believed "only friendship and consensus" could resolve conflicts.

"Confrontation and hostility would not help to resolve any problems," Anwar, speaking on a visit to the central state of Pahang, was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

ASEAN foreign ministers Saturday defied appeals from the West and human rights organizations and decided to admit Myanmar, along with Cambodia and Laos, into the group in July.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, which is the current chairman of the body. The grouping celebrates its 30th anniversary in August.

Anwar said the move was in line with Malaysia's position that a country's internal affairs should not be made a condition for membership of ASEAN.

"And whatever the problems that ASEAN members may have, our best approach has always been through constructive engagement," he said, citing Vietnam as an example.

Vietnam's membership in ASEAN since 1995 had proven to be more productive than by adopting a hostile and isolating approach, he said, adding that member countries demonstrated a "spirit of unity" to create an "ASEAN 10".

ASEAN follows a "constructive engagement" policy which rejects the western approach of trying to isolate the Myanmar regime through sanctions in favor of quiet diplomacy and economic contacts to open up the country.

Meanwhile, police released late yesterday nine Malaysian activists who were detained for demonstrating outside the venue of the ASEAN meeting Saturday in protest at the decision to admit Myanmar.

"We view the release as upholding our rights to freedom of expression enshrined in the Malaysian constitution," Sharaad Kuttan, among the activists released, told AFP.

A non-governmental organization, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, urged ASEAN governments to reconsider Myanmar's admission into the grouping.

"We regret that Myanmar has been admitted into ASEAN as the junta has repeatedly refused to abide by the rule of law and to respect international standards of behavior, including willful violations of national boundaries," it said in a statement.

It called on ASEAN to engage with the Myanmar opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's military junta had refused to honor the results of a 1990 election, won massively by the NLD.

"The people of Myanmar have made their decision and we respectfully plead with ASEAN not to crush their vote by propping up a brutal and irresponsible regime," the organization added.