Myanmar comes under fire at ARF

Myanmar comes under fire at ARF

By Santi WE Soekanto and Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia (JP): Simmering differences on the
Myanmar issue sharply divided the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations Regional Forum (ARF) yesterday despite a general
atmosphere of cordiality and political will to elevate the forum
to its next level of diplomatic evolution.

Sharp words and discontent spilled over as delegates directly
accused Myanmar, represented by Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw, for
suppressing democracy and human rights abuses.

Describing Myanmar as an "anomaly" within ASEAN, United States
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright listed her aversions:
failure to recognize elections, arrest of business people to stop
currency fluctuations and closure of public schools to prevent
political unrest.

"Burma (Myanmar) is the only nation in ASEAN where it is
illegal to own a fax machine," she said.

In the face of strong Western criticism, ASEAN admitted on
Wednesday Laos and Myanmar as members, joining Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Instead, ASEAN had pursued a policy of constructive
engagement.

"We acknowledge that the decision to admit Burma (Myanmar) was
ASEAN's to make and we respect it...Burma's future and ASEAN's
future are now joined, and now more than ever Burma's problems
need an ASEAN solution," Albright said.

She went one step further in her bash against the military
regime in Yangon by saying drug traffickers there were major
investors in the country and "leading lights in its new political
order".

Albright was here to attend the one-day ARF meeting which
brings ASEAN together with its dialog partners.

During the meeting Ohn Gyaw was given the opportunity to
elaborate on developments in his country, taking the time to
explain Yangon's plans to establish a new constitution.

But both Albright and European Union representative,
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jacques Poos, brushed aside Ohn
Gyaw's explanation.

"I didn't feel that his presentation was credible at all,"
Poos replied to journalists after an initial hesitation at the
question.

Even the chairman of the meeting, Malaysian Foreign Minister
Abdullah Badawi, was less than flattering in his description of
Ohn Gyaw's presentation. "It was factually correct, but they are
not taking any big steps forward."

Poos said the EU now accepted ASEAN's constructive engagement
policy, but indicated that "it is a recognition of reality"
rather than a belief of the policy's potency.

"We wish them good luck that their constructive dialog will
bring about democratic changes," Poos said.

Even the ARF chairman's statement received some criticism for
not highlighting concerns on Myanmar.

"It was really not negotiated...there is really nothing wrong,
it reflects the reality, but of course they didn't want to be too
explicit on the problem I just mentioned," Poos added.

There was but a fleeting mention of Myanmar in the 11-page
statement.

Despite the stinging criticisms made during and after the
meeting, most delegates underlined that the atmosphere was
non-conflictual.

Badawi claimed that discussions were held "without becoming
disagreeable".

On the future of the forum, Badawi revealed that the ARF would
now progress to the next stage in its evolution. "We agreed to
move the ARF from confidence-building measures to preventive
diplomacy."

He added that established mechanisms such as consensus
decision-making, would be maintained in the evolution.

During the second ARF meeting in 1995, it was agreed that the
forum would follow a three-stage approach: confidence-building
measures, preventive diplomacy and conflict resolutions.

The statement, touching on most regional political security
issues, said "the overall security environment in the Asia-
Pacific region continues to improve. Notwithstanding the
existence of certain challenges, the area remains stable and
peaceful."

Other highlighted topics included the South China Sea,
elimination of land mines, the Korean Peninsula, nuclear weapons,
and activities of the Track-Two initiatives involving non-
governmental think tanks.

Other foreign ministers present at the meeting were
Australia's Alexander Downer, Brunei's Mohamed Bolkiah,
Cambodia's Ung Huot, Canada's Lloyd Axworthy, China's Qian
Qichen, India's P. Chidambaram, Japan's Yukihiko Ikeda, Korea's
Yoo Chong Ha, Laos' Somsavat Lengsavad, New Zealand's Don
McKinnon, Philippines' Domingo Siazon, Russia's Primakov,
Singapore's S. Jayakumar, Thailand's Prachuab Chaiyasarn, and
Vietnam's Nguyen Manh Cam.

Also present were special representative to Papua New Guinea
L. Louma and ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Ajit Singh.

Today the delegates will begin a two-day Post Ministerial
Conference.