Timely interference

Timely interference

Old habits die hard in countries where conservatism is
entrenched, but recent events promise to push the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), toward a more interventionist
approach to members' domestic affairs.

The past months have made the long-held noninterference tenet
something of a nonstarter. Delegates to the ministerial meeting
in the Philippines this week will find it hard to avoid that
conclusion. No matter what form of words they choose to disguise
any policy shift, or how forcefully older leaders like Malaysian
Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad resist, the organization
cannot cleave to outdated procedures for much longer.

When refugees pour across borders and factional fighting
spills into neighboring countries; when the haze from Indonesian
fires brings Malaysian cities to a standstill, the troubles of
other nations inevitably become one's own. But the real clincher
is contained in the proposals for the week's agenda: urging
Cambodia to ensure free and fair elections, formulating a
statement condemning the nuclear arms race between India and
Pakistan, signing a joint declaration heralding a move toward a
drug-free ASEAN.

With Burma (Myanmar) newly in their ranks, and traffickers as
active as ever in the Golden Triangle between Thailand, Burma and
Laos, that aim may prove unrealistic, but none of these goals can
be achieved without harsh criticism of member states, so the old
facade of consensus seems fated to crumble. Second Prime Minister
Hun Sen lashed out at ASEAN in January for admitting Burma, while
preaching democracy and human rights to Cambodia.

Few members are in a position to preach about either, and life
for the Burmese has not improved since it was welcomed into the
fold. In more practical matters, however, timely interference
might have helped to contain problems of economy, ecology and
health which spread between countries until the whole region was
sick.

-- South China Morning Post, Hong Kong