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.