The paranoid Myanmar junta

Again and again Myanmar's neighbors have abased themselves in front of the global community out of a desire to demonstrate solidarity with their impoverished neighbor, all the while harboring unwarranted hopes for an improvement in Myanmar's conduct.

Myanmar's long-suffering neighbors continue this outward show of supporting and engaging a country that has become the problem child of Southeast Asia, although many of these neighbors are beginning to wonder how much longer they can afford to defend Myanmar while its leaders continue with their shameless behavior.

The members states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will receive another dose of humiliation on Friday, all in the name of an increasingly unstable neighbor that more and more people agree has to go.

U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to deliver some harsh words on the issue of the Myanmar military regime, which is the target of economic sanctions by the U.S., when he meets with the leaders of ASEAN members states -- excluding Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, who are not APEC members -- on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea on Friday.

Speaking to journalists after his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Kyoto, Japan, on Wednesday, Bush said: "The abuses by the Burmese (the former name of Myanmar) military are widespread and include rape, torture, execution and forced relocation."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking on the same day in Busan, described Myanmar as one of the world's worst regimes and strongly criticized ASEAN for being too soft on the junta, which has been a source of continuous embarrassment for the regional grouping since joining in 1997.

"I understand that a lot of countries that are neighbors of Burma feel the need to engage them, but I would hope that that engagement also takes the form of being serious about the really quite, quite appalling human rights situation in Burma."

In response to Bush's criticism, will the ASEAN leaders sing the same old song about constructive and persuasive engagement with the military junta in Myanmar? The leaders of ASEAN, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Philippine President Gloria Macagapal Arroyo, Malaysian PM Abdullah Badawi and Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong, must realize it would be very difficult to deny the truth of President Bush's statement.

ASEAN has taken several measures meant to pressure the junta in Yangon. Myanmar will not be allowed to take over the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN next year, being replaced by the Philippines. Such actions, while not exactly tough, are meant to push the regime to honor some of the many promises it has made in the past, including the promise to release opposition leader and Nobel Peace Laurete Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for much of the past 15 years. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the military-approved general election in 1990, but the military has steadfastly refused to recognize the results.

Why do the other members of ASEAN continue to hold out hope for rational behavior from a junta that jails one of its most senior members, Gen. Khin Nyunt, for no apparent reason? And now the military junta in Myanmar is relocating government offices and official residences to a jungle in Pyinmana, some 320 kilometers north of the capital Yangon. The relocation will be completed in April and several of the relocated offices have already opened for business.

The New York Times and international news agencies like the Agence France-Presse have cited the fear of an invasion by the United States as the apparent reason for the move to the jungle. Maybe the junta leaders believe Myanmar holds the kind of strategic importance to the U.S. that Iraq does and are taking a cue from Saddam Hussein, who built bunkers all around his country to guard against invasion. Whatever the reason, if it was not so sad this jungle relocation would be laughable.

Paranoia would perhaps be the best explanation for the generals' decision to pick up and move to the jungle.

For how long will ASEAN allow itself to be held hostage by this paranoid regime? Indonesia, as the largest and one of the most influential members of ASEAN, and the third world's largest democracy, after India and the United States, should show some leadership on this issue.

ASEAN must move forward and enhance its position in the international arena, for the sake of the welfare of the people in the region. ASEAN is a respected organization and one of the most successful regional groupings in the world, but for years in its encounters with the international community Myanmar has damaged the group's image and credibility.

Enough is enough for the Myanmar regime, and not just because of pressure from the U.S. or the European Union. For the 53 million people of Myanmar and the stability, security and welfare of all of the countries of Southeast Asia, ASEAN must have the courage to tell Myanmar's generals they are no longer welcome until they return to the people of Myanmar the power they have stolen.