ASEAN told to go slow on Myanmar

ASEAN told to go slow on Myanmar

BANGKOK (Reuter): Exiled Myanmarese dissidents urged the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) yesterday not to
rush to admit Myanmar to the group, accusing its military
government of violating human rights.

"It is too early to bring Burma (Myanmar) into ASEAN," Zaw Min
of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) said. "We
would like to urge the ASEAN members not to rush to bring Burma
into the organization because the dictatorship is still violating
human rights."

ASEAN, which now groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, will be expanded
eventually to include Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, ASEAN officials
say.

Myanmarese Prime Minister, Gen. Than Shwe, who is also
chairman of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council,
is due to arrive in Bangkok tomorrow to attend a summit of the
seven member grouping on Friday.

In an interview with The Bangkok Post which was published
yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa had said that
ASEAN would become a bigger force in the next century when it
expanded to include Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.