Myanmar plans ASEAN bash

Myanmar plans ASEAN bash

YANGON (AFP): Myanmar, a brand-new member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is to hold a ceremony Friday marking ASEAN's 30th anniversary, the official press reported yesterday.

The report was the latest in a series highlighting Myanmar's entry into ASEAN last month and trumpeting the benefits of membership amid public concerns over repercussions on the country's monetary and financial system.

The English-language New Light of Myanmar quoted Lt.Gen. Khin Nyunt as saying that Myanmar would continue modernizing "step by step" based on the prevailing internal political and economic system and "in cooperation with ASEAN member countries".

Khin Nyunt, powerful first secretary of the ruling junta, officially known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), acknowledged there had been criticism "both positive and negative" surrounding Myanmar's ASEAN entry.