ASEAN leadership seen bringing pressure on Myanmar: Downer

ASEAN leadership seen bringing pressure on Myanmar: Downer

Agencies, Kuala Lumpur/Phnom Penh

Myanmar is likely to face strong pressure from its neighbors to
push through political reform once it takes over the chairmanship
of Southeast Asia's main grouping, Australia's foreign minister
said on Friday.

Alexander Downer said Myanmar's turn as chairman of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2006 was a
prospect its partners in the 10-country bloc viewed with concern.

"I think a great turning point is going to be when Myanmar
takes over the leadership of ASEAN," Downer told Reuters in an
interview.

"That is going to put a lot of pressure on ASEAN and ASEAN is
very conscious of that," he said.

Neither sanctions by Western countries nor engagement by
Myanmar's Southeast Asian partners have loosened the grip on
power by Yangon's military leaders.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest
and her party is absent from constitutional talks that started
last month and are widely regarded by Western nations as a sham.

Myanmar joined ASEAN in 1997, creating diplomatic rifts and
riling ties with European countries, in particular, that have
long criticized Myanmar over its poor rights record and
suppression of the pro-democracy opposition.

Some ASEAN members have expressed concern about the damage
Myanmar's inclusion in the grouping has done to its dealings with
its "dialog partners", such as the European Union and the United
States.

Yangon's assumption of ASEAN's rotating chairmanship could
bring a showdown with the bloc's partners if no progress is seen
on the junta's so-called road map to democracy.

"The countries that are going to have more influence over the
leadership there are countries like Malaysia and Thailand and
Singapore and the Philippines and so on," Downer said.

"They have to do all they can to try get this road map brought
to a point of credibility," he said at the end of a two-day visit
to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Cambodia said on Friday that some Asian countries
could derail its efforts to join the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
as a result of the spat surrounding Myanmar's proposed inclusion.

The 10-member grouping wants its newer members -- Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar -- to be included in the biennial summit in
return for the participation of 10 European countries, which
joined on May 1.

However, some EU members are opposed to Myanmar's entry unless
the military regime lifts restrictions on opposition leader Suu
Kyi, putting the next summit, slated for October, in jeopardy.

"I have told the European community that want it or not, we
are being held hostage to the Myanmar situation when it comes to
entering ASEM," foreign minister Hor Namhong told reporters.

He said that while European members have said they have no
problem with Cambodia and Laos entering the bloc, some Asian
countries want to see all three join at the same time.

"Unfortunately, some Asian countries -- I won't mention any
particular country -- want the three of us in jointly," he said,
adding that he could not confirm whether Cambodia would join
October's summit in Hanoi if it goes ahead.