'Myanmar's entry may mar ASEAN'

'Myanmar's entry may mar ASEAN'

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Malaysia's powerful Moslem Youth Movement
said yesterday the dignity of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) will be tarnished if it accepts Myanmar's
military government into its fold.

Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman, secretary-general of the non-
governmental organization, urged ASEAN to exercise discretion in
accepting Myanmar, as the country calls itself, as a member,
given the military government's atrocities and human rights
abuses against its citizens.

"If the citizens of Myanmar can change the fate of their
country without a helping hand from ASEAN, what will be the
relationship between ASEAN and the future legitimate government
of Myanmar?" he said in a statement.

The seven-member ASEAN accorded observer status to Myanmar at
its annual foreign ministers' meeting in Jakarta at the weekend,
in a move seen as a final step towards attaining full membership
in two or three years.

Myanmar also joined, together with India, the ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) in Jakarta yesterday, bringing to 21 the number of
members in the security body whose other members include all
ASEAN states, the United States, the European Union, China,
Russia and Japan.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia and Laos are also
observers and are expected to become members next year.

ASEAN has long ignored calls by Western countries to isolate
Myanmar's military government, known as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), which crushed a pro-democracy
uprising in 1988 and which has refused to cede power despite
losing in general elections two years later.

ASEAN governments maintain that their non-confrontational
policy of "constructive engagement", which allows trade and
business ties with Myanmar, is more effective at bringing about
democratic reforms than imposing economic sanctions or isolation.

Ahmad Azam said that while criticisms by Western governments
on Myanmar may seem like double standards given their weak action
in Bosnia-Herzegovina, ASEAN should be careful about accepting
Myanmar "just to oppose the stand of the West".