Washington barks at ASEAN over Myanmar

Washington barks at ASEAN over Myanmar

Agence France-Presse, Washington

The United States on Wednesday pointedly disagreed with the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s assessment of
recent "positive developments" in Myanmar and flatly rejected
ASEAN's call for a road map to national reconciliation.

The State Department said it saw no "positive developments" to
speak of in Myanmar, which used to be called Burma, noting the
continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and
many members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).

And, spokesman Richard Boucher maintained that unless and
until the military rulers in Yangon opened a dialog with the
opposition -- the NLD and Myanmar's many ethnic minorities -- a
road map for reconciliation was pointless.

"We know what they (ASEAN) said," he told reporters when asked
about a statement released by the 10-nation grouping after a
summit in Indonesia on Tuesday.

"We know they called for a road map, we know they noted quote-
unquote positive developments," Boucher said. "We don't see those
and we don't see any need for a road map unless it has the full
participation of the opposition."

"No proposal for a road map is meaningful without the full
participation of the democratic opposition," he said. "That for
us is the way forward, that for us is the only way forward."

At the summit in Indonesia, Myanmar won praise rather than
censure for "recent positive developments" despite calls from
some of its ASEAN colleagues to free Suu Kyi before the meeting.

In addition, the ASEAN leaders said in the statement that
sweeping trade sanctions slapped on Myanmar by the United States
and others "are not helpful in promoting peace and stability
essential for democracy to take root."

The United States in August imposed a blanket trade ban on
Myanmar after Suu Kyi was detained at an undisclosed location
following a bloody clash between her supporters and pro-junta
demonstrators on May 30.

The Nobel peace laureate was admitted to hospital on Sept. 17
for surgery and was transferred from there to house arrest on
Sept. 26. It is her third period of house arrest since the late
1980s but the junta is portraying her current status as a
positive and planned development.

Boucher said the United States was not about to change its
policy on Myanmar because of the ASEAN statement or Yangon's
"road map" outline for national reconciliation.

"Our stance toward the Burmese military junta has not
changed," he said.

"Aung San Suu Kyi and all others detained for peaceful
expression of political views should be released immediately and
unconditionally," Boucher said, calling for the reopening of NLD
offices and the start of real dialogue.