Love thy neighbors

Love thy neighbors

Once upon a time there was a neighborhood called Southeast
Asia. Some years ago, five of the 10 households in the
neighborhood got together to form an association. ASEAN, or the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, became a forum in which
they could address just about every issue that they wanted to
discuss, from common problems to bilateral relations -- anything
to enhance their livelihoods. The association also became a forum
in which the heads and senior members of the households could
forge not only cooperative ties, but also a common stance on
issues which arose in the increasingly complex global village
around them.

Over the years the association became so successful that all
other households in the neighborhood joined in, with the
exception of one. Even then, it is only a matter of time before
the one remaining house joins to make the group one big, happy
neighborhood family.

Down the years, members of the ASEAN community lived on the
principle of not meddling in the domestic affairs of the other
households. As one of the principles governing their relations,
non-interference is widely regarded as an important underpinning
of the association's success story. In simple terms, the
principle states that one should refrain from making any act that
resembles interference in the domestic affairs of the other
households. Since even comments could be construed as
interference, it was better for members to stay quiet rather than
risk incurring the wrath of their neighbors.

But with relations within the neighborhood and with other
neighborhoods in the global village becoming more and more
complex, some of the households in Southeast Asia are now
questioning the wisdom of maintaining silence on the internal
affairs of their neighbors, especially if those affairs touch
their collective conscience. If one of your neighbors beats his
wife and children, for example, should you keep silent and act as
though nothing has happened the next time you meet? In the past,
the answer was an obvious yes. It was none of your business, no
matter what happened inside your neighbors' houses. But one or
two households are now asking whether this should be so.
Shouldn't the line be drawn somewhere? Don't you feel any sense
of duty or responsibility if your neighbor inflicts suffering on
his wife and children?

This is the question that ASEAN foreign ministers must now
address during their annual meeting in Manila this week. Thailand
broke the taboo by making harsh comments on Myanmar's recent
crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents. The Yangon regime, a
newcomer to the association, in turn lashed out at Bangkok by
invoking the non-interference rule. Thailand responded by saying
that it was time to change the rules of the game, and came up
with the concept of "flexible engagement" which it hopes to
discuss in Manila. The Philippines has expressed support for the
concept, while Indonesia has strong objections to the plan to
review the principle during the meeting.

We trust ASEAN diplomats meeting in Manila will come out with
a compromise solution to this question which is to the
satisfaction of everyone, just as they have always done in the
past when burying or peppering differences. But they have to bear
in mind that rules governing the relations between nations have
greatly changed and so in this light they would be wise to review
the nature of their own multilateral ties.

Human rights and democracy, for example, are no longer issues
that can be regarded as purely internal affairs. They are issues
of concern to everyone. When these universal rights are removed
or violated, conscience may compel individual nations to speak
out in protest.

Loving thy neighbors should not be taken simply to mean
respecting the privacy of your neighbors, especially when taken
to a point which prohibits interference in other countries'
domestic affairs. Loving thy neighbors also entails living up to
your responsibility as a member of the community. That often
means speaking out when your conscience tells you to do so, even
when at the expense of incurring the wrath of your neighbors.