Ong warns of 'downside' if Myanmar skips ASEAN chair

Ong warns of 'downside' if Myanmar skips ASEAN chair

P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Washington

An international campaign to restore democracy in Myanmar would
face a setback if the military-ruled state gives up its turn to
lead the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) group
next year, a top ASEAN official warned.

"The downside of this is that if Myanmar voluntarily steps out
of the chairmanship, it means for the next two to three years,
the issue is out of the radarscope," ASEAN Secretary-General Ong
Keng Yong told AFP in Washington.

"How are we going to leverage for the early release of Aung
San Suu Kyi and whatever things we want in Myanmar," Ong asked,
referring to Myanmar's democracy icon under house arrest for most
of the last 15 years.

Suu Kyi's party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to
rule. Its offices have been shut down by the military junta.

Myanmar is due to take over the ASEAN helm from Malaysia in
2006. The chairmanship is determined by alphabetical rotation
among member states, which also include Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.

Holding the ASEAN chair means Myanmar will set the group's
agenda and direction as well as host a series of high-profile,
media-seeking meetings, including a summit and a top regional
security forum.

But both the United States and European Union (EU), key
partners of ASEAN, have vowed to boycott the Southeast Asian
group's meetings if Myanmar is chairman.

Officials and parliamentarians from some ASEAN member states
are also afraid that Myanmar will damage the group's image and
international links if it takes over the mantle.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand do not wish that Myanmar
takes the ASEAN chairmanship.

ASEAN officials have indicated that Myanmar would announce at
the annual ASEAN ministerial meeting next month that it would
skip the chairmanship.

But ASEAN secretary-general spoke differently.

Ong, who attended an ASEAN-U.S. dialog here this week, said:
"On the one hand, people can claim victory that they have
prevented Myanmar from taking the chair but I ask the question:
What is the end thing that you are driving at?

"If the end goal is a democratic Myanmar and a country with
popular participation with their own political national
development, this situation of forcing Myanmar out of the chair,
will it bring the results?

"I don't think so."

Myanmar was among issues discussed at the U.S.-ASEAN dialog of
senior officials, convened every 18 months to discuss wide-
ranging issues and cooperation programs.

The United States has warned that if Myanmar chaired ASEAN,
the grouping's image would be smeared.

"It's actually a question for ASEAN to decide. What's going to
happen to the image of the group if it is led by Burma," a State
Department official asked, using Myanmar's previous name.

Ong, a former senior Singapore official, said: "If I am in the
Myanmar government's position, I can see the upside. The upside
is: 'we will be off the radarscope for the next few years ...
there is a merit to be gotten out of not taking the chair of
ASEAN.

ASEAN in recent years has taken a slightly higher profile in
prodding Myanmar to embrace democratic reforms, slowly moving
away from its so-called "constructive engagement" policy under
which members muted criticism of one another.

Jeremy Woodrum, the co-founder of the U.S. Campaign for Burma
coordinating the global push to free Suu Kyi, said ASEAN should
use its clout to bring about rapid political reforms in Myanmar.

He said ASEAN should have delayed Myanmar's chairmanship by a
year, setting a deadline for Yangon to embrace reforms.

"The chairmanship comes up once in 10 years and ASEAN should
have used this golden opportunity to set a timeline for changes
in Burma," Woodrum said.