Suu Kyi questions ASEAN's policy

Suu Kyi questions ASEAN's policy

BANGKOK (Reuter): Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi questioned the effectiveness of Southeast Asia's "constructive engagement" policy toward Myanmar, and called on neighboring countries to help promote democracy in Myanmar, The Nation newspaper reported yesterday.

"I do notice that while promoting the policy of constructive engagement some ASEAN nations are careful to say that they do not interfere in the internal affairs of another country," Suu Kyi told The Nation in an interview.

"If they do not interfere in the internal affairs of another country then how far can they help us achieve change?"

The constructive engagement policy Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) toward Myanmar's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) differs sharply from western countries' outspoken criticism of the Yangon government and human rights abuses in Burma since 1988.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which became a member last week. Several members have said Suu Kyi's release was proof the policy was right.

But Suu Kyi, the 50-year-old Nobel Peace laureate who was released from six years of house arrest earlier this month, said there was no evidence to prove ASEAN policy had worked.

"The question is for whom has it been constructive? Was it constructive for the forces of democracy? Was it constructive for the Burmese (Myanmarese) people in general? Was it constructive for a limited business community? Or was it constructive for the SLORC?" Suu Kyi asked.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw, currently attending ASEAN meetings in Brunei as a guest, took the first steps on the road to ASEAN membership last week by acceding to the organization's founding treaty.

Suu Kyi said if ASEAN nations cared about regional peace and stability they should care about the kind of governments their neighbors had.

She repeated appeals to governments and investors not to rush into Myanmar with new funds, but instead to encourage a climate of dialog and negotiation.