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Myanmar bows to
pressure
By Martin
Petty
VIENTIANE – After months of keeping
everyone guessing, military-ruled Myanmar finally
caved in to international pressure and announced
Tuesday it will skip its turn at chairing the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
next year.
"The government of Myanmar will
relinquish its turn to be chair of ASEAN in 2006
because it would want to focus its attention on
the ongoing national reconciliation and
democratization process," Lao Foreign Minister
Somsavat Lengsavada said in a joint statement from
the association. "We expressed our sincere
appreciation to the government of Myanmar for not
allowing its national preoccupation to affect
ASEAN solidarity and cohesiveness."
The
decision to defer means the 10-member grouping
will be spared the embarrassing scenario of being
chaired by a country seen as a rogue state by the
international community for its poor human-rights
record and its failure to release hundreds of
political prisoners, including opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN members had feared
a refusal to cede the chair would have harmed
crucial ties with the United States and the
European Union, which had threatened to boycott
the group's meetings if Myanmar took its turn at
the rotating chairmanship.
Speaking at the
annual ASEAN ministerial meeting, Myanmar's
Foreign Minister Nyan Win pledged to forge ahead
with the country's stalled national convention and
follow its seven-step "roadmap to democracy" – a
plan dismissed as a sham by human-rights groups
and the US, which says Myanmar is insincere about
introducing meaningful reforms.
"We have
to draft the constitution and we have to make a
referendum, and after that we will hold a free and
fair election and change our democratization
process," he said.
But he made no mention
about Aung San, the pro-democracy icon who has
been under house arrest for much of the past 15
years. Her National League for Democracy Party won
Myanmar's 1990 election by a landslide but the
ruling junta refused to hand over power.
Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi
Suphamongkhon said ASEAN hoped democratic progress
by Myanmar would see Aung San freed, but he
refused to say whether the junta had given
assurances of her release.
"There are
signals that this will happen," he said. "Myanmar
is coming up with a referendum on the
constitution. We hope during that process Aung San
Suu Kyi will be released and then there will be
elections."
But Kantathi insisted ASEAN
had not pressured Myanmar – formerly Burma – to
skip its turn at the presidency and said it was
entirely its own decision. "After very close
consultations with us, this was a decision taken
by Myanmar," he said. "This is a critical year for
their national reconciliation process and they
should not be distracted from that. "They can take
their turn next time. They won't have to wait 10
years, they can get to the front of the line."
The Philippines agreed to take over the
alphabetically rotating chairmanship in Myanmar's
place after Malaysia finishes its turn in the
middle of next year.
"The national and
democratization process will keep Myanmar busy in
2006, therefore at that point the Philippines will
take over," Philippines Foreign Minister Alberto
Romulo said.
Thai Senator Kraisak
Choonhavan, chairman of the Senate foreign affairs
committee and staunch critic of the Myanmar
government, praised ASEAN for "moving
diplomatically with prudence", but said its
pressure on the junta needed to be maintained.
"I hope that this is not just buying time
for Burma because we are very used to that," he
said. "I don't think ASEAN should stop there.
Burma should be made to give a proper timeframe
for its transition to democracy and if it still
fails to perform, ASEAN should defer Burma's
membership."
The junta has ruled Myanmar
under various names since 1962 and joined ASEAN in
1997. Despite receiving widespread international
condemnation, it is rarely criticized by ASEAN
countries, who follow a policy of non-interference
in the domestic issues of the association's
members.
Thai charm
offensive
Meanwhile, Thai officials were on
a charm offensive in Vientiane to court more
support for Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai's bid to become the next United
Nations secretary general when the job becomes
vacant next year.
Meeting with fellow
ministers at the ASEAN summit, Kantathi urged the
group's members to promote his predecessor's
campaign to take over from Kofi Annan at the end
of 2006. If elected, Surakiart would be the first
Asian to head the UN in 35 years. Not since 1971
when Myanmar's U Thant stepped down after a decade
in the job has an Asian been head of the world
body.
"All the ASEAN countries have
already endorsed Surakiart's bid but we thought we
should take that a step further," Thai Foreign
Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuanketkeow said. "We
have asked them to help his campaign. Asian
nations should work together and work actively for
his candidature. We have less than a year."
Harvard-educated Surakiart, 47, has been
traveling across the globe to shore up support for
his bid. He is expected to be challenged by
veteran Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala and
current Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski,
whose term ends in October. Kofi Annan said in
April that there was "a general consensus among
member states" that the next UN secretary general
should be Asian.
"It's important for Asia
to present a single candidate," Sihasak said. "It
would be helpful to get the support of permanent
members of the Security Council. It's now accepted
that it's Asia's turn, but it's all in Asia
hands."
He said Surakiart also had the
backing of a number of countries in the Middle
East, Central and East Asia, as well as Africa.
"He has been working hard to promote himself and
there are many countries who believe he is
qualified."
Sihasak played down
suggestions that Thai Supachai Panitchpakdi's
appointment in May as director general of the
World Trade Organization would affect Surakiart's
candidacy. "This will have no bearing," Sihasak
said, "Supachai's was an appointed position,
whereas Surakiart's bid relies on the support of
members."
Martin Petty was a
news and sports reporter in England and an
editorial trainee with Reuters in Bangkok prior to
joining ThaiDay.
(Copyright 2005
ThaiDay) |
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