Soeharto fully supports Myanmar's ASEAN entry
YANGON (Agencies): President Soeharto assured Myanmar yesterday of Indonesia's full support of its plan to become a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at an "appropriate time", Antara reported.
Myanmar has fulfilled the economic criteria to become a full member, Indonesia's State Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters of a meeting between Soeharto and Gen. Than Shwe, the chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
"Myanmar is very ready," Moerdiono said, Antara reported. He added that politics and domestic issues were not used as criteria in ASEAN membership.
ASEAN has agreed to admit Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos at the same time.
The United States and the European Union have been pressing ASEAN countries to isolate Myanmar because of the Yangon military regime's repression against its political opponents.
ASEAN governments however have insisted on its "constructive engagement" policy with Myanmar, invoking the principles of mutual respect and refrain from meddling in the domestic affairs of other countries in their foreign policy.
Myanmar's opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu-kyi, has also been calling on ASEAN leaders to isolate Yangon. Neither she nor any of her spokespersons have publicly commented on Soeharto's current visit.
Moerdiono said Indonesia viewed that the problem between SLORC and Aung San Suu-kyi was a Myanmar internal affair.
Indonesia hoped that the problem could be resolved in the best possible way by the people of Myanmar, Moerdiono said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas declined to state a date for Myanmar's entry to ASEAN, although most analysts speculate that this will happen later this year.
"That date still needs to be determined," Alatas said, reported AFP.
Soeharto today will end his three-day visit in Myanmar, the last leg of his tour that has taken him to Cambodia and Laos.
Alatas stressed that the main focus of Soeharto's visit was economic, dedicated to bolstering economic cooperation, two-way trade and joint ventures.
He noted that two-way trade values were "very, very low ... far below capacity" but said: "We are trying to do something about that."
Indonesia lags behind other ASEAN members such as Singapore and Malaysia in business links with Myanmar. It is involved in five projects, compared to more than 50 for the other two.
Two memoranda of understanding were signed yesterday, covering Indonesian investment in industrial sectors in Myanmar and a joint venture to operate internal air services in Myanmar with leased Indonesian aircraft.
The agreements were signed by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Soeharto's eldest daughter and president of PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, and Than Oo, chairman of the Union of Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd, Antara reported.
Under the agreement, Citra will lend technical and financial assistance to developing industries in Myanmar, covering food such as instant noodle, and fertilizer, and in the construction of a power plant and roads.
Soeharto also planned yesterday a meeting with Gen. Ne Win, the long-term Myanmar leader who retired shortly before the current military rulers took power.
Alatas initially said "no such meeting is on the agenda officially", but he acknowledged that the meeting would take place, stressing "It's purely personal, I think."
Alatas said the two leaders had known each other "from way back".
Soeharto met Ne Win on his last official visit to Myanmar in 1974. Ne Win was a staunch advocate of nonalignment for Myanmar, which, since his retirement, has made an effort to rejoin the international community.