Malaysian PM conveys concerns to Myanmar leader

Malaysian PM conveys concerns to Myanmar leader

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met the leader of Myanmar's military government yesterday and conveyed concern over the situation in that country, Malaysia's foreign minister said.

Mahathir met Senior Gen. Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Myanmar's prime minister, ahead of a summit of Asian nations in the Malaysian capital.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi told reporters the general informed Mahathir of recent changes affecting the government in Yangon.

"These changes are intended to give the government greater capacity for development, increase the pace of development in Myanmar," Abdullah said.

Last month the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which had ruled the country with an iron fist since seizing power in 1988, was dissolved as part of a surprise government change that led to the creation of the SPDC.

Abdullah said Mahathir expressed his views on the situation in Myanmar to Than Shwe.

Malaysia backed down yesterday from its previous insistence that Myanmar be allowed to attend an Asia-Europe summit in London next year.

"It is not a region-to-region kind of meeting. It is not an ASEAN-Europe meeting," Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told a news conference. "There is therefore no automatic membership especially for Myanmar."

But for meetings between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union, "our stand is very clear," he said. "For this matter, all ASEAN members are involved."

"It has always been our principle not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, but he (Mahathir) did express the view,...this expression of concern about the Myanmar situation (expressed) by other leaders with whom we have met," Abdullah said.

Than Shwe said in a statement after arriving in the Malaysian capital on Saturday that his presence at the three-day summit starting later yesterday showed Myanmar's commitment to work with ASEAN in all activities.

Mahathir sparked a furor in September when he said ASEAN might boycott next year's summit if Myanmar were barred.

Mahathir, who boycotted an Asia-Pacific summit in the United States in 1993, said that any discrimination against Myanmar would amount to discrimination against ASEAN.

But British officials ruled out Myanmar's attendance due to EU sanctions which deny visas to officials from Burma, renamed Myanmar by the junta which seized power in 1988.

Other ASEAN members had maintained that ASEAN membership did not automatically qualify a country to join the Asia-Europe summit because countries take part on an individual basis.

The Asia-Europe meeting in Bangkok last year grouped the 15 nations of the EU with 10 East Asian economies -- the seven ASEAN nations at the time (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) plus China, South Korea and Japan. Myanmar joined ASEAN along with Laos in July.

ASEAN admitted Myanmar in July despite protests from several western countries and the European Union which cited the poor human rights record of the Myanmar junta.

The Asian leaders were expected to discuss a planned summit with the European Union set for next April in London, delegates said.

A meeting set for last month between the EU and ASEAN member states was postponed because of disagreement over Myanmar, which has been criticized by the West for human rights abuses and for curbing political activities of the opposition led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.