ASEAN lawmakers to debate ways to push Myanmar

ASEAN lawmakers to debate ways to push Myanmar

Agencies, Kuala Lumpur/New Delhi

Southeast Asian lawmakers might ask their governments to suspend
military-ruled Myanmar from the region's main grouping if it
doesn't speed up democratic reforms, officials said on Monday.

The non-binding recommendation could emerge at a Nov. 27-28
conference in Kuala Lumpur of members of parliament and other
officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, said Nazri Aziz, a Malaysian minister.

The conference has been initiated by a group of Malaysian
legislators who are dissatisfied with Myanmar's pace of
democratization.

"Myanmar has taken advantage of the fact that ASEAN
governments are very tolerant," said Nazri, a minister in the
Malaysian Prime Minister's Department. "We have to tell them,
straight to their faces, what is not acceptable to us."

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military
since 1962. The current junta called elections in 1990, but
refused to hand over power when Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory.

A power shuffle last week replaced Myanmar's relatively
moderate former premier Gen. Khin Nyunt with hardline Lt. Gen.
Soe Win -- a move seen as a blow to prospects for reforms and for
the release of Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May
2003.

Lawmakers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand have confirmed plans to attend the Malaysian conference,
to be held on the eve of the ASEAN leaders' annual summit in
Laos. ASEAN also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

ASEAN's 10 members maintain a policy of noninterference in
each other's affairs, and the parliamentary group's
recommendations will not be binding on their governments.

Still, some officials' desire to expel Myanmar from ASEAN
shows growing frustrations in the region as its policy of
engaging Myanmar instead of imposing sanctions has barely spurred
reform.

ASEAN must "consider unpleasant options such as the expulsion
or suspension of Myanmar from ASEAN," said Lim Kit Siang,
Malaysia's opposition leader in Parliament.

Malaysia has been a key Myanmar supporter and helped it enter
ASEAN in 1997, despite international objections over its human
rights record, which includes claims of forced labor.

Government lawmaker Zaid Ibrahim noted that Myanmar was
scheduled to chair ASEAN in 2006, which could be "embarrassing
and counterproductive" for the grouping.

In New Delhi, India pitched for better business ties with
Myanmar as it rolled out the red carpet on Monday for Senior
General Than Shwe on the first visit by a head of the pariah
state in nearly a quarter-century.

India and the former Burma were due to sign agreements to
boost economic and security cooperation, despite protests by pro-
democracy activists who condemned New Delhi for welcoming the
strongman of a junta shunned by much of the world for its
repressive policies.

India sees the six-day visit of the Than Shwe as a culmination
of a decade-long engagement with its eastern neighbor to offset
China's influence in the strategic region.

India, one of the first countries to condemn Yangon for its
repression of pro-democracy activists after a 1988 crackdown,
says it remains committed to the cause of democracy in Myanmar,
but has been pushing trade, investment and security ties.

Indian President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
smiled and shook hands with Than Shwe after a ceremonial welcome
at the red sandstone presidential palace. The leaders made no
remarks before they went into talks.

Myanmar will likely see Than Shwe's trip to the world's
largest democracy as helping to legitimize Yangon's position at a
time when it has few friends in the world, analysts said.

With an eye to business opportunities, Indian Commerce
Minister Kamal Nath told a business meeting that trade could
double in two years to US$1 billion and that New Delhi was
developing its remote northeast as a springboard for trade links
with Myanmar.