Myanmar's PM braves critics at summit

Myanmar's PM braves critics at summit

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post,
Nusa Dua, Bali

Myanmar's ruling junta will send Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyut
to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual
summit, which begins on Tuesday, despite heavy diplomatic
pressure from within and outside of ASEAN to free Aung San Suu
Kyi.

As of Friday evening, the only concession the Myanmar generals
had made as a response to the ASEAN leaders's demand for her
release was to put the popular opposition leader under house
arrest after being discharged from the hospital last week.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed earlier pointed out
the possibility of ousting Myanmar from ASEAN if the junta
continued its extrajudicial detention of the daughter of
Myanmar's first post-independence leader Aung San.

Unlike his previously harsh stance on Suu Kyi's release,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda on Friday insisted
that although the military was refusing to release Suu Kyi, it
"had made significant progress" in dealing with her as well as
strides toward democratic development.

The minister also insisted that Khin Nyut's presence in Bali
had no relation at all with Suu Kyi's status, although he also
conceded there could be some negative fallout if they did not
release Suu Kyi before Tuesday.

"As ASEAN chairman, we are of the opinion that Myanmar has
made progressive steps, when Myanmar announced its 'Road Map to
Democracy and Reconciliation' and allowed Suu Kyi to return
home," Hassan said after his arrival in Bali.

President Megawati's special envoy, former foreign minister
Ali Alatas recently returned from Yangon empty but failed to
convince the junta to free Myanmar's democracy icon or even to
meet with Suu Kyi.

Minister Hassan last month visited Yangon to convey the
message from the other ASEAN foreign ministers about their
concern over the Suu Kyi issue. At that time the Indonesian
government was optimistic that the junta would eventually free
her before the Bali summit began.

"It was an unfortunate coincidence that when on Sept. 21
Madame Suu Kyi was hospitalized, Pak Alatas could not meet with
her," the minister said when asked why Alatas had no access to
Suu Kyi while UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail was allowed to meet
with her a few days ago.

Hassan seemed to rationalize the otherwise negative impact of
house arrest for Suu Kyi, essentially arguing that because of her
health problems, she actually needed to stay longer at home in
order to recover.

Hassan did not rule out the possibility that the ASEAN leaders
would discuss Suu Kyi's status during their summit on Tuesday
although it is not part of the official agenda.

In the meeting of the ASEAN leaders with Chinese Prime
Minister Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Indian Prime Minister
Atal Beehari Vajpayee, the issue will likely emerge too.

Japan has threatened to cut financial assistance to the
impoverished country if the military insisted on keeping Suu Kyi
locked up.

Meanwhile, Hassan added that he was confident that the summit
would fully endorse Indonesia's proposal for the establishment of
an ASEAN Security Community. And when the leaders meet again in
Laos next year they should be able to adopt a concrete action
plan to implement such a security arrangement.

According to the minister it was not the time for ASEAN to
focus not only on economic issues, but also political and
security issues, which have been largely neglected at least since
1997 when the financial crisis hit the region.

Indonesia, Hassan continued, strongly believed in a
comprehensive security cooperation that would enable the regional
grouping to settle regional problems more effectively without
becoming a military pact.

He further expressed confidence that the security community
would finally bring Indonesia back to its rightful place as the
leader of the regional grouping, the position that the country
held for more than 20 years during the tenure of former president
Soeharto.

"We are aiming not just to chair ASEAN during the one-year
presidency, but also to lead the grouping in entering this new
historical period after the upcoming Summit," the minister
remarked.