Myanmar's exclusion from ASEM surprises Alatas

Myanmar's exclusion from ASEM surprises Alatas

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas expressed
surprise yesterday at British Foreign Minister Robin Cook's
statement that Myanmar would not be admitted to the summit of the
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in London next year.

Alatas, speaking before attending a cabinet meeting at Bina
Graha presidential office, said the issue of Myanmar's
participation had not been decided by the participants.

"I do not understand why Minister Cook continuously talks
about that, since there is still no discussion at all on it," he
said.

Cook said in Singapore on Monday that Europe's recent decision
to deny visas to senior Myanmar officials for allegedly profiting
from the drug trade made their inclusion at the London summit
impossible.

"Burma (Myanmar) is the largest single world producer of
opium," Cook told a meeting of business leaders. He also branded
the government as a repressive and irresponsible regime.

Cook was also in Jakarta last week, where he told the
government to improve its human rights record.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reacted strongly to
Cook's statement by saying that the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) would boycott the summit if Myanmar was
excluded.

The first ASEM summit was held in Bangkok in March 1996. ASEM
is a forum linking the 15 members of the European Union, and nine
members of ASEAN, plus China, Japan, and South Korea.

Myanmar and Laos were admitted into ASEAN in July, joining
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam.

Alatas described Britain's accusations on drug trafficking as
"merely its own bilateral problems with Myanmar".

He added that other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand,
India and Pakistan, have also applied for membership.

"We have not even discussed their membership. I think this is
a rather confusing report," Alatas said, adding that a decision
on membership was based on individual participation, not
membership of a regional organization.

"So it is not a meeting of ASEAN on one side and the EU on the
other," he remarked.

ASEAN heads of governments will likely discuss the issue in
their forthcoming informal summit in Kuala Lumpur in December.

In Manila, Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rodolfo
Severino said foreign ministers and eventually the leaders of
ASEAN would have to first discuss Myanmar's role in the Asia-
Europe dialog.

Meanwhile, a statement by the spokesman for the Singapore
foreign ministry said that the question of Myanmar's presence at
the summit "does not arise" because no consensus had been reached
on any new participants.

"There has been no decision taken on new membership for ASEM
II, which has to be decided by consensus. Until a decision is
taken, the membership of ASEM II in London will be the same as
that of ASEM I in Bangkok." (prb)