Asia-Europe meeting might be canceled over Myanmar

Asia-Europe meeting might be canceled over Myanmar

BANGKOK (Reuters): Disagreement over Myanmar's participation at a gathering next week between officials of the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could force the meeting to be canceled, a senior Thai official said yesterday.

"It takes two to tango," said Suraphong Jayanama, spokesman for the Thai ministry of foreign affairs. "Thailand, which acted as ASEAN's messenger, has already passed on the message to the EU," he told Reuters.

ASEAN insists there will be no discrimination against any of its members. The nine-member group said that when the EU demanded Myanmar be excluded from the meeting it was viewed that the Europeans meant they did not want the meeting to take place.

The EU has signaled it is against Myanmar's participation at the meeting because of its human rights record and curbs on opposition figures.

The EU has suspended all high-level contacts with Myanmar in protest.

Technical experts of the ASEAN-EU joint cooperation committee are scheduled to meet in Bangkok from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19 to discuss cooperation projects between the two groups.

Myanmar in July became a member of ASEAN which also groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Myanmar, which is run by the State Law and Order Restoration Council, has been widely criticized by the West for human rights abuses.

"The ASEAN stance is nondiscriminating. So when EU comes in one bloc, ASEAN won't drop one of its members from the meeting," Surapong said.

In Manila, the Philippines backed Myanmar's right to sit at the ASEAN-EU meeting in Bangkok and said it was up to the EU to decide if they would attend or not.

"That's up to them...Our (ASEAN's) decision is to go through with the meeting," Philippine foreign under-secretary and incoming ASEAN Secretary-General, Rodolfo Severino, told Reuters.

"We feel that nobody should discriminate between ASEAN countries when it comes to dealing with ASEAN as a whole," he said.

Severino said ASEAN had not received any word from the EU that it would not attend the Bangkok meeting.

"You and I know they have problems with Myanmar so this is why it is necessary (for ASEAN) to take this position," Severino said.

"The position that the EU seems to be taking...seems to be very highly political in nature so we just have to take a stand on it," he said.