Suu Kyi, terror dominate Asian meeting
Suu Kyi, terror dominate Asian meeting
Jane Macartney, Reuters, Phnom Penh
Cracking down on militant violence and unprecedented criticism of the lack of democratic progress in member state Myanmar dominated the start on Monday of a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers.
Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, for two days of talks overshadowed by Myanmar's detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the war on terror and a review of the group's fundamental principle of not interfering in a member's affairs.
"We are gathered here at a time of both anxiety and hope," Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the opening ceremony in a reference to worries about extremist violence and successes in the war on terror such as recent arrests in Cambodia and Thailand of suspected Islamic militants.
"ASEAN, as a result of the recent arrests of suspected terrorists, is no longer an easy theater of operations for international terrorism," ASEAN spokesman M.C. Abad quoted Secretary General Ong Keng Yong as telling the ministers.
The talks precede on Wednesday's annual security gathering of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) that will bring U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on a whirlwind trip to a region where he is anxious about the spread of extremist violence and has spoken against Myanmar's detention last month of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi's detention dominated and could herald one of the biggest policy shifts in ASEAN's 36-year history. Several members are concerned about an issue that has embarrassed the group and are looking at breaking with basic principles to issue unprecedented public criticism of one of their own.
"What we would like to happen is a discussion of broadening the interpretation and application of that principle," Abad told reporters.
Several nations feel Myanmar cannot escape some censure in a final communique given the international condemnation heaped on its military rulers for detaining Suu Kyi once again.
Powell last week urged tougher sanctions against the junta and the European Union is to discuss similar action on Monday.
"We would like to have diplomatic words," said Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung, indicating the military government was ready to discuss Suu Kyi's situation.
Myanmar is detaining Suu Kyi amid vague fears that assassins are on the prowl in the country but she will be freed when the time is ripe, Win Aung said on Sunday. He could not give a date. Myanmar students went back to universities on Monday after the military allowed classes to restart, ending a two-week suspension amid fears of unrest following the detention of the pro-democracy leader.
Several members are concerned Myanmar's actions will tarnish the reputation of an organization that has prided itself on engaging the junta but say overly harsh criticism could prompt it to hold Suu Kyi for even longer to avoid losing face.
The meeting also focused on the war on terror. ASEAN, which groups mainly Islamic states Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei with the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore and Laos, should agree on closer cooperation, officials say.
In the last few days, Cambodia has announced the arrests of four suspected extremists with links to the al Qaeda-affiliated Jamaah Islamiyah group that is blamed in the Bali bombings.