ASEAN, EU lock horns over Myanmar
By Stephen Kurczy
PHNOM PENH - Minutes into the first session of the 17th ministerial meeting
between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European
Union (EU) this week in Phnom Penh, and Myanmar's deputy Foreign Minister Maung
Myint had already told all delegates to keep out of the junta's internal
affairs.
The trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which entered its ninth day on
Thursday, is purely a legal matter and of no concern to the outside world,
Maung Myint said on Thursday. "It is not political, it is not a human-rights
issue. So we don't accept pressure and interference from abroad."
European delegates summarily rejected Maung Myint's statement, sparking a
back-and-forth discussion that lasted hours and sidelined hopes for substantial
progress in other areas. Myint
declined to elaborate on his comments when approached by Asia Times Online,
saying, "I already expressed myself at the meeting this morning."
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout told delegates that Myanmar had taken "a big
step backwards" and Suu Kyi's trial could not be treated as merely an internal
issue. Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb added that "it is an
old-fashioned way of thinking" to talk about "not meddling in internal
affairs".
The EU was created to do exactly that within Europe, Stubb said, and ASEAN
should consider doing likewise. Later, during their lunch of shrimp cocktail,
grilled lamb and caramel flan, a French diplomat reportedly delivered a
15-minute lecture on human rights directed at Myanmar.
ASEAN, however, maintained a softer stance towards its embattled member. The
10-nation bloc [1] repeatedly attempted to steer the discussion away from
Myanmar and asked that the 27-nation EU focus on enhancing cooperation and not
just the junta's human-rights record.
At the meeting the two blocs signed two declarations enabling the EU to accede
to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, a non-aggression
pact, and agreed to seek ways to give new impetus to negotiations on an
ASEAN-EU Free Trade Area.
"The Myanmar issue is one, but there are other issues that need to be
addressed," ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan said on Thursday. "Let us
not just let one or two issues become the obstacle [to] all the cooperation
that we have been having together."
"We're not saying we shouldn't discuss Myanmar, but it's not the only issue
affecting ASEAN and the EU," added Enrique Manalo, the Philippines' under
secretary of state for policy and head of delegation, between meetings
Thursday. "It doesn't mean we don't want to discuss it, but we don't want to
spend a whole hour just discussing Myanmar."
In a 30-minute speech on Thursday morning that addressed a host of issues from
climate change to cyber crimes, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen avoided any
mention of Myanmar or the trial of Suu Kyi, saying, "We should not lose sight
of the broader and longer-term interests of the two regions."
The ministerial meeting began on Wednesday evening, with 110 ASEAN delegates
and 161 European delegates in attendance. Most arrived directly from the
Asian-EU summit in Hanoi, where North Korea's nuclear tests and Myanmar's human
rights abuses had dominated talks. At the end of the meeting, diplomats
released a joint statement calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other
political prisoners.
Cambodian Foreign Minister and event co-chair Hor Namhong attempted to start
the Phnom Penh summit on a different note, proposing "not a working dinner, but
a relaxing dinner". As food was served, Myanmar's Maung Myint and the chief
Estonian delegate heeded the advice, discussing rock music at their end of the
dinner table.
On the opposite side of the room, however, Stubb was assuring Asia Times Online
that Myanmar's human-rights situation would soon be addressed. Suu Kyi "should
be freed and she should be freed immediately", he said.
Suu Kyi, 63, is being tried at Yangon's notorious Insein prison for allegedly
violating the terms of her house arrest when, on May 4, she allowed an American
man who swam across a lake to her house to sleep overnight. Though she was due
to be released on Wednesday, she now faces up to five years in prison. (See
The fool and The Lady of the lake, Asia Times Online, May 15)
US President Barack Obama has called the hearing a "show trial". When asked on
Thursday if any ASEAN or EU delegates expected Suu Kyi's release, an Irish
diplomat burst out laughing. That the court will find Suu Kyi guilty is
considered a near certainty, although it remained unclear at the end of the
EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting how either regional bloc would respond to this
verdict.
"Let's wait and see," said Namhong. The EU has threatened to tighten sanctions
against Myanmar if the pro-democracy icon is convicted. Czech Foreign Minister
Jan Kohout, who co-chaired the meeting as the Czech Republic now holds the
rotating EU presidency, also refrained from identifying any repercussions. "We
have to wait," he said.
Myanmar was not the only target of international disapproval during the
ministerial meeting. The group also condemned North Korea's recent underground
nuclear test and missile launches, calling for the denuclearization of the
peninsula. As with Myanmar, European delegates came down harder on North Korea
than their ASEAN counterparts. After an hour of wrangling over the phrasing of
a joint statement, at the behest of ASEAN, EU delegates agreed to soften their
wording from "strongly" condemning to only condemning North Korea.
According to one European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, ASEAN
resisted stronger criticisms of North Korea and Myanmar because it wants to
maintain regional alliances, particularly with China. He said that being
Myanmar's biggest supporter and principal arms supplier (See
China drawn into Myanmar's border strife, Asia Times Online, May 28),
China could exert more control over its southern neighbor if ASEAN loses
influence in Yangon.
Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said during the meeting on Thursday
that Myanmar's long border with China and India automatically turns the nation
into a potential flashpoint between the world's two most populous countries.
"Having good relations with China, having good relations with India, helping
them interact with each other in a way that is advantageous to us, all that is
at the core of ASEAN foreign policy," Yao said, cautioning that Myanmar could
easily isolate itself further.
"Myanmar has been a place of contest between China and India. And I believe it
more is in your interest in Europe to have Myanmar integrated into Southeast
Asia than for it to be left isolated on its own. I am not making a defense of
what the present government is doing ... [but] you have your position, we have
our position, and our Myanmar friends have their position, which we should
respect."
The European diplomat said ASEAN's softer stance toward North Korea and Myanmar
is understandable, and the EU would not penalize the organization for its
policy.
"We have to keep in mind that Burma [Myanmar] should not be isolated, the
diplomat said after the summit. "If we let Burma [Myanmar] go, then it will be,
politically, strongly influenced by either India or China or maybe both. And
then we will have nothing to say."
Notes
1.) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations consists of Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Stephen Kurczy is an Asia Times Online contributor based in Cambodia. He may be
reached at kurczy@gmail.com.
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