'ASEAN must do more to release Suu Kyi'

'ASEAN must do more to release Suu Kyi'

MALAYSIA: Southeast Asian countries should do more to pressure Myanmar's military regime to restore democracy and free Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from detention, the UN's special envoy to Myanmar said on Friday.

Razali Ismail's comments come as the United Nations steps up pressure on Myanmar's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to do more to speed up democratic reforms the junta has promised to carry out but that appear to be languishing.

"The responsibility of the continuing situation (in Myanmar) more and more is beginning to rest on the shoulders of the countries in the region," Razali told reporters on Friday. "There will be no change in Myanmar unless and until the countries ... accept that responsibility." --AP