Megawati's diplomatic 'coup' in freeing Suu Kyi

Megawati's diplomatic 'coup' in freeing Suu Kyi

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
korpur@yahoo.com

A euphoric tide of democratization has swept through some members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in recent
years, especially founding members Indonesia, the Philippines and
Thailand.

ASEAN has also experienced a steady recovery in its once lowly
international stature. But, just when things seemed to be
improving, enter the brutality of Myanmar's military junta
against world democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, something that has
proved to be a major thorn in the side of the regional grouping.

In a surprise move in June, ASEAN abandoned its much
criticized non-interference credo when its foreign ministers
during their annual meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, harshly
rebuked the Myanmar military regime and demanded the quick
release of Suu Kyi.

The spirit of concern for Suu Kyi has even infected Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was once angered by then
Indonesian President B.J. Habibie when the later expressed
sympathy for jailed former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar
Ibrahim, his long-time friend.

Even Singapore, famous for its sophisticated legal moves to
impoverish antigovernment leaders like Joshua J.B. Jeyaratnam and
Singapore's Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chee Soon Juan, also
strongly urged Yangoon to free Suu Kyi.

After four years in limbo since the economic crisis hit Asia
in 1997, ASEAN has been able to regain some of its international
prowess, ironically thanks to the Sept. 11 tragedy and the Bali
bombings in October last year. The impacts of the two tragedies
have translated into the impetus for stronger unity in the
regional grouping. Western countries have once again come to
realize the strategic value of the region in terms of economics
and global security.

ASEAN's partners in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Asia-
Pacific Economic Forum (APEC), and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM),
and Asian economic giants China, Japan and South Korea, are being
lured back to seek out lucrative business opportunities in the
region.

When industrialized countries and wealthy investors meet with
ASEAN, of course both parties want to concentrate on business
interests, and they want to get rid of all possible stumbling
blocks to negotiations. So, when Myanmar remains under the iron
fist of a military junta and continues to mistreat the 1990 Nobel
Prize laureate, Myanmar's presence at the negotiating table
becomes a serious liability to ASEAN.

People in the region are now more conscious of democratic
values, including the significance of having elected leaders.
Indonesians, Thais and Filipinos show more concern now over a
repressive regime in their midst. To a certain extent, they might
also be ready to demand that their governments stop pretending
not to know that Suu Kyi's party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD), overwhelmingly won the military-controlled
general elections in 1989.

Myanmar's neighbors can no longer accept the non-interference
argument, because the military abuses against Suu Kyi have
directly affected their own well-being. Like in any neighborhood,
neighbors will have to take action if they continue to witness
domestic violence in a neighboring home. They have to act to stop
such domestic cruelty.

Indonesia, as the current ASEAN chairman, is supposed to lead
the group in its mission to address the source of diplomatic
disruptions: The political chaos in Myanmar.

In February 1997, it was Soeharto who directed ASEAN's final
judgment on the bids of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to join the
group. At that time Indonesia strongly believed that the
incorporation of Myanmar into ASEAN would be productive for the
region.

This was the time when Soeharto was at the peak of his power,
after cracking down hard on Megawati Soekarnoputri in 1996.
Clearly he had no interest in defending Suu Kyi. Myanmar's
generals were proud to learn from him on how to rule their
country with an iron fist.

It is only natural that Suu Kyi should have more hope now that
Megawati is at the helm, especially because they have similar
family backgrounds. Megawati's father, Sukarno, and Su Kyi's
father, Aung San, were the founding fathers of Indonesia and
Myanmar respectively.

But what has happened? The current government's attitude to
the issue is a virtual carbon copy of Soeharto's attitude to
Myanmar. That is the reason why visiting Myanmar foreign minister
Win Aung presented a small but seemingly pleasant gift to his
host Indonesia, which is hungry for international recognition in
the diplomatic arena.

Indonesia can now only nostalgically look back on its
diplomatic triumphs of the past, when it helped settle the
conflicts in Cambodia, and in the Southern Philippines, at least
for a while. Today, the optimum result of what it could
accomplish is reflected in the statement of foreign minister
Hassan Wirayuda yesterday: "We have received a guarantee that the
Aung San Suu Kyi case will be over before the ASEAN summit (in
October in Bali)."

Myanmar's military regime was clearly delighted with President
Megawati's lenient, if not permissive, approach to the brutality
of Myanmar's military junta against Myanmar's democratically
elected leader.

After being harshly warned by Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad that Myanmar could be ousted from the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Suu Kyi's
detention, the ruling Myanmar generals can now smile broadly as
they have been able to appease Indonesia with only a small
concession.

It will be very embarrassing for Megawati if the 58-year-old
Suu Kyi is still detained during the October summit when the 10
ASEAN leaders will also receive the leaders of China, Japan and
South Korea.

But is her release enough? She can easily be arrested again
after the summit. It is essential for ASEAN to convince the
generals in Myanmar that it is firstly in their own interests to
give Suu Kyi the opportunity to lead the country as the winner of
the 1989 elections.

It would then be no less pressing for ASEAN to convince Suu
Kyi that it would be in the interests of her country, and the
stability of her government, to give concessions to the generals.
Can Megawati do it? Can Minister Hassan convince his own boss
that it is now the time to act?