U.S. sanctions must not cloud issue

ASEAN might rightly be irked at growing international concern at the prospect of the admission of the military regime of Myanmar. In making what will be a momentous decision, it needs to focus on the real issue -- and that is the aspirations of a population that conflict with those of military rulers.

In reacting to United States sanctions against Myanmar, ASEAN leaders have shown that no one likes to be told what to do, particularly in their own neck of the woods. The reaction is perfectly natural, but it is important not to lose sight of the central issue in the debate about the admission of Myanmar. The issue is interference.

Some ASEAN leaders have jumped at the chance to tell Washington to mind its own business and stop interfering in regional affairs. But ASEAN must accept that, despite its protests to the contrary, it is interfering in the affairs of Myanmar itself. In pandering to the State Law and Order Restoration Council, ASEAN is defying the wishes of the more than 95 percent of Myanmar's population who voted the dictators out of office in the 1990 general election.

-- The Bangkok Post