ASEAN gives mix reaction on Myanmar's detention of Suu Kyi
ASEAN gives mix reaction on Myanmar's detention of Suu Kyi
Agencies, Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok
The continued detention of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi would damage ASEAN and the matter should be resolved as soon as possible, Indonesia said on Monday.
"I think with time the longer this issue is allowed to remain unresolved, the more it would constitute a setback, not only to the reconciliation process in Myanmar itself, but also a setback to ASEAN...indirectly", Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Marty Natalegawa, told Reuters.
He was responding to a report quoting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as saying Myanmar might be expelled from the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if its generals did not free Suu Kyi.
Natalegawa would not directly address the expulsion issue but said Indonesia, the grouping's current chairman, was expecting a meeting with a special envoy from Myanmar very soon to respond to ASEAN concerns.
He said ASEAN's consensus on Myanmar had been reflected at the last meeting of the group's foreign ministers in the Cambodian capital last month.
"The ASEAN position as reached in Phnom Penh is that the Myanmar government has promised to respond to the ASEAN position and in the coming days we anticipate the Myanmar special envoy to deliver a response," said Natalegawa.
Mahathir played a big role in Myanmar's admission to ASEAN in 1997, arguing then that Asian-style engagement with the junta would be more appropriate than Western pressure.
On Monday, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Myanmar's ruling junta needs to free the pro-democracy leader soon or risk a crisis that could lead to its expulsion from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
"Whether ASEAN is willing to take that step is something - we have to see what Myanmar does during this period," Syed Hamid said in an interview. "The crucial thing is releasing Suu Kyi."
The Yangon government took the Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi into "protective custody" in late May after a clash between her supporters and a pro-government group, provoking condemnation by the United Nations, Western countries and major aid donor Japan.
Since then, Myanmar has shrugged off international outrage over her detention, including threats of more Western sanctions. But its action provoked a rare rebuke from fellow ASEAN members, usually loath to criticize one another in public, during the meeting in Cambodia.
Last week, Thailand proposed a "road map" for democratic change in Myanmar but spoke out against U.S. sanctions plans.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) swept to victory in 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power.
Thailand on Monday rejected Malaysia's warning that Myanmar could be expelled from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, saying the military junta should be given more time to achieve democracy.
In separate comments, Thailand's prime minister and foreign minister made it clear that they do not agree with the hardline comments from Malaysia's leadership. "I think we should give them (Myanmar's generals) more time to demonstrate their sincerity in returning to the process of national reconciliation and pushing for development of a democratic system in their country," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters.
Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai also said he disagreed with the option of the 10-nation ASEAN expelling Myanmar.
"I personally think ASEAN shouldn't sanction Myanmar," he told reporters.
"The government's refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi was probably a safety issue ... Every time I have met with Myanmar's foreign minister, he has assured me that her detention is temporary," he said.
"We need to give Myanmar some time," he added.
Under Thaksin's rule in the past two years, Thailand has been highly supportive of the junta. Previous Thai governments were sometimes critical of its western neighbor.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.