Myanmar to exploit propaganda value of summit

By Stephen Collinson

YANGON (AFP): Myanmar's generals are determined to exploit the propaganda value of hosting this week's ASEAN Economics Ministers retreat, styling the country as a key regional player and honored member of an important alliance.

"Our country is open for high-level visits, and top ranking ministers from all over the region will come and look. They will be surprised at our development," chief Economics Minister Brig. Gen. David Abel was quoted as saying in the junta-backed Myanmar Times.

The meeting represents a moment of political opportunity for the government in its bitter battle with the democratic opposition of Aung San Suu Kyi who issues frequently scathing critiques of the generals' qualifications to rule.

It is also a chance to thumb its nose at Western powers which do their best to deprive the junta of a significant role on the world stage due to Myanmar's dubious human rights record and status as a major drugs producer.

Critics of Myanmar say the military has no right to rule following the crushing election win of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in 1990.

But further legitimacy will be conferred on the government on Tuesday when envoys from Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing arrive for so- called Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus three talks.

"Just imagine -- China, Japan, South Korea and our ASEAN brothers -- you can see the impact and impetus that can be created," said Abel.

The military, which goes under the name of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) wants the meeting to exemplify its central philosophy -- that it is the only institution capable of ensuring stability in a country riven by ethnic differences.

Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt, the head of military intelligence, on Monday welcomed regional trade ministers to a "country that is peaceful, stable and economically vibrant, with people full of zest and full of confidence for the future."

That's a vision sharply at odds with the Myanmar portrayed by Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's critics -- a land of political strife and economic deprivation struggling under the iron grip of military rule.

"The government don't expect much to come out of this meeting, they are just happy they can hold it and deliver the message that Myanmar is at peace and stability has been achieved," one analyst said here on condition of anonymity.

The meeting marks another step on Myanmar's journey out of the socialist isolation imposed on the country for nearly 30 years from the early 1960s by reclusive dictator Ne Win.

Myanmar joined ASEAN after concluding that it could no longer afford to go it alone and had more to gain from interacting with its neighbors than by ignoring them.

But its emergence has not been heralded by any loosening of the military's grip on the domestic political scene and consequently its entry into the organization came against bitter opposition from Western critics who accuse the junta of gross human rights violations.

Myanmar's membership has poisoned inter-group relations between ASEAN and the European Union, which are only now on the verge of being repaired after several years of acrimony.

The dispute was triggered by differing approaches to the country. ASEAN prefers "constructive engagement" while the EU seeks to punish the junta into reform.

Officials here stress that Myanmar is an integral part of Southeast Asia, and is hoping that a return of investment after the regional crisis will help it ride out the impact of Western sanctions and trade restrictions.

"The future of Myanmar and ASEAN cannot be separated," said Khin Nyunt.

"An ASEAN without Myanmar will not be ASEAN in its true sense."

"Now that the economic recovery of the region is taking place, it is our hope that mutually beneficial cooperation will regain its momentum."

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.