ASEM summit at risk of collapse

ASEM summit at risk of collapse

ASEAN's position on Myanmar will only allow the pariah state to pursue its dark aims

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, probably biting his tongue, has said that Cambodia would boycott the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi in October if the Europe did not allow Myanmar to attend.

Even though Europe would like to go ahead with the summit, the political situation in Myanmar stands in the way.

At the moment, it looks as if Yangon might downgrade its delegation to lower than the head of state to save the meeting. But this will not change anything in Myanmar. Many EU leaders will not take part in the meeting anyway.

If that is the case, it would be better not to proceed with the summit.

Cambodia recently said it should be allowed to become a member of ASEM regardless of the situation in Myanmar. That was a veiled criticism of ASEAN because the grouping wants Europe to admit Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia in a package in exchange for the membership of the 10 new members of the European Union.

At the recent meeting in Jakarta, the Southeast Asian grouping chose to defend Myanmar. It seemed at the time that there was no way out of this quagmire, so the ASEAN foreign ministers expressed support for the ongoing process in Myanmar, including the national convention. It was folly to do so. ASEAN has been trapped and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

The regime in Myanmar will continue with its discredited process to draft a constitution, hoping to gain more legitimacy, once the constitution is finished and ready for implementation.

The regime will then set a date for an election as soon as possible, ahead of its hosting of the 2006 ASEAN meeting. If that happens, it will be a fait accompli for Myanmar, a reward for its longstanding intransigence.

ASEAN knows that very well, which explains why it continues to back Myanmar. They think it is better to have a besieged Myanmar as a member than a democratic one, which could strengthen the democratic forces inside ASEAN.

-- The Nation, Bangkok