ASEAN leaders urged to stand up to Myanmar

ASEAN leaders urged to stand up to Myanmar

MANILA (AFP): Two special envoys of U.S. President Bill Clinton met with Philippines President Fidel Ramos here yesterday at the second stop of an Asian mission aimed at coordinating an international response to the military crackdown in Myanmar, officials said.

There were no immediate details on the outcome of Ramos' meeting with the emissaries, retired ambassador William Brown and Stanley Roth of the U.S. Institute for Peace.

The mission is pressing Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand "to take action to ward off violence and to promote mutual goals of democratization (and) respect for human rights" in Burma, U.S. embassy spokesman Bernard Lovejoy told AFP.

He said Washington, which on Monday threatened sanctions against Yangon, is also seeking "progress" against the narcotics trade which centers on the so-called "Golden Triangle" on the conjunction of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.

The ruling military junta in Yangon detained more than 250 members of the political opposition last month in a bid to prevent a meeting of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The two Clinton representatives met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda last Monday. They were scheduled to fly to Singapore later yesterday. The mission ends on June 17. All countries in the itinerary save Japan are members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN has refused to adopt the West's approach of openly criticizing Rangoon for its human rights record, preferring to follow a policy called "constructive engagement."

"This is first, last and always an Asian situation and Asian solutions, and hopefully ASEAN solutions, are applicable here," envoy Brown told Reuters after meeting Ramos. He declined to disclose details of his meeting with the Philippine president.

"It was a very positive meeting and we deeply respect the wisdom that was imparted to us," Brown said of his meeting at the presidential palace in Manila.

"We remain of course very concerned about the situation (in Myanmar)... We are all very hopeful for the prevention of bloodshed and for a reconciliation and dialogue among those involved," he added.

An ASEAN scholar here however said the mission had a less realistic chance of making any headway elsewhere in the region. "I do not think that the aggressive approach that the United States is taking is going to be very effective," said Julius Caesar Parrenas of the Manila-based Institute for International and Strategic Studies. "ASEAN is doing the sensible thing," he said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said yesterday ASEAN will maintain its policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar despite political tensions in Yangon.

"Our position is clear. ASEAN's position on Myanmar has not changed from what it calls the constructive approach to try and to pull Myanmar out of isolation," Alatas told reporters.

"We in ASEAN will keep firmly to the principle that we don't interfere in each other's domestic affairs," he added.