ASEAN should stick to principles

ASEAN should stick to principles

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and
Thailand in particular, has gone to a lot of trouble to pave the
way for Burma's participation in the first-ever meeting today of
the leaders from 10 countries in the region.

While Burma's eventual inclusion in ASEAN is inevitable, there
are some messages that ASEAN must clearly convey.

ASEAN wants Burma to join the regional grouping by the year
2000. Although the dream of "One Southeast Asia", with ASEAN as
its core, is highly noble and speaks of pragmatism, it will not
materialize right away.

Why? Because ASEAN is a club governed by rules and regulations
that have to be followed. More importantly, the members of ASEAN
must adhere to certain principles, and there must be no
exemptions.

One of the basic rules is stipulated already in the United
Nations Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which all U.N. member states, including ASEAN countries and
Burma, have an obligation to promote and adhere to.

And last week, for the fifth consecutive year, the U.N. third
committee on social, humanitarian and cultural affairs adopted by
consensus a resolution deploring human rights abuses in Burma.

The committee's statement, which will now be forwarded to the
U.N. General Assembly for final adoption, confirms that human
rights abuses continue in Burma.

But this horrible practice has been denied repeatedly by the
ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC).

It is important that ASEAN not serve as a vehicle for a free
ride, as far as Burma is concerned, particularly when the
regional grouping is building an identity for its people.

A civilized society must observe basic human rights
principles.

As such, the pressure on ASEAN to see to it that this is
understood is even greater. Burma's acceptance into ASEAN must be
guided by the aforementioned parameters.

The ball is now in Rangoon's court and the stakes for ASEAN
are high.

If ASEAN, for instance, wants Southeast Asia to be a nuclear-
free zone, it must demonstrate its capacity to adhere to
principles.

In other words, it must begin in its own backyard by
practicing what it preaches.

-- The Nation, Bangkok