Myanmar tarnishes ASEAN's image

Myanmar tarnishes ASEAN's image

MANILA: The Burmese (Myanmarese) military authorities have
clamped severe restrictions on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and her party colleagues after 200 police hauled them back to
Rangoon (Yangon) last weekend from Dala, a suburb where they had
been stopped from proceeding to a meeting with party members set
some 50 miles outside the capital.

The forceful action of the police ended a nine-day impasse in
which Suu Kyi and 15 leaders of her National League for Democracy
(NLD) remained in two cars on the roadside, refusing to budge.

The impasse was the latest episode in Suu Kyi's struggle for
political liberalization in Burma (officially Myanmar) and
reminded the rest of the world that her campaign for democracy is
far from over despite the overwhelming odds.

Burmese authorities have said that she was now back home "safe
and sound," and the world need not worry about her safety. But to
say she's safe and sound in her home, where the military said she
was comfortable, is to stretch the meaning of the words too far.
After the impasse was broken, her house was bolted and padlocked
from outside, telephone lines were cut and, according to reports,
food now has to be passed over the wall. The military said this
was not even a "house arrest."

The latest confrontation between Suu Kyi and the Burmese
military junta took place as the United Nations Millennium Summit
in New York was about to convene, drawing a chorus of
condemnation from the Western democracies, and the European Union
and an expression of "deep concern" from UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan over the suppression of her right to free movement.

The junta, however, reacted to this condemnation by not only
stonewalling but also tightening the house arrest and linking the
NLD to alleged "terrorist" activities. Such allegations are the
usual methods used by repressive governments to discredit the
political opposition and stifle dissent.

The feeble response of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) to this latest episode in Suu Kyi's struggle for
freedom has again underscored the folly of the policy of
"constructive engagement."

When ASEAN admitted Burma in 1997, it thought that it could
nudge Burma into political reforms through diplomatic persuasion,
but apparently the policy has failed to move the Burmese regime
toward more democratic government.

Some countries in ASEAN, notably the Philippines and Thailand,
are embarrassed by the crackdown and the futility of the
constructive engagement policy, but as a group, ASEAN has been
silent over it, fearing that publicly denouncing the crackdown
would undermine its doctrine of noninterference in the internal
affairs of member countries.

The fact, however, is that ASEAN has breached this doctrine
and has not been consistent about observing it. ASEAN's disarray,
for example, over the political crisis in Indonesia provoked by
the grant of independence to East Timor effectively undermined
the doctrine, and so it should stop invoking a policy that has
been torn to shreds by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

ASEAN's shameful silence on the crackdown is matched only by
that of the Philippine government from which not a pip of protest
has been heard. The only group that condemned the crackdown was
Lakas, the opposition party that has managed to identify itself
with a foreign policy issue with a democratic theme. If it were
not for Lakas, the events in Burma would have been completely
ignored locally.

Thailand has done better than the Philippines in expressing
concern over the effects of the crackdown on ASEAN. Thai Foreign
Minister Surin Pitsauwan has said that the confrontation between
the junta and the opposition in Burma could tarnish ASEAN.

He said, "It is important not to create the impression of more
tension, instability and insecurity that could erode confidence
in the region. We ourselves don't want the problem to continue
because it may affect the image of ASEAN as a whole."

The timidity of the Philippines is best illustrated by the
fact that it is walking on tiptoes while seeking Rangoon's
permission for the Philippine ambassador to interview Suu Kyi,
who has been effectively quarantined.

Burmese authorities say the restrictions are only "temporary,"
but they have shut out Burma's ASEAN's partners from inquiring
into the events of the past two weeks.

-- The Philippine Daily Inquirer / Asian News Network