Asia Times Southeast Asia ASEAN inaction irks Myanmar exiles ( By Marwaan Macan-Markar ) BANGKOK - Myanmar exile groups are unimpressed by the failure of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to follow through on an apparently tougher line against the Yangon junta, as once again it is left to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to fight for democracy alone, most recently through a reported hunger strike. Beginning with the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh in June, most of the region's governments turned the heat on Myanmar's military regime to release Suu Kyi from military custody and to restart the country's stalled reconciliation talks. This attitude - including the harsh words of condemnation in July by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad - seemed to show that on Myanmar, at least, ASEAN has been moved to abandon its policy of non-interference with domestic affairs of member states. Previously, ASEAN's standard position had been toward a policy of "constructive engagement" with Myanmar, which it hoped would nudge Yangon toward more democratic change. Suu Kyi and leading members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party were taken into military custody on May 30 after they were attacked in a town north of Yangon by thugs linked to the junta. Next Tuesday will mark her 100th day of this latest round of custody, which began about a year after she had been released from 19 months of house arrest. But Suu Kyi's reported hunger strike has yet to elicit the kind of open sympathy ASEAN displayed toward the leader of the NLD few months ago. On the contrary, the government in neighboring Thailand has seen it fit to pour scorn on Suu Kyi's latest display of non-violent protest. On Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was quoted in Matichon, a Thai-language daily, as saying that the Myanmar regime was more open to participation of other political groups and "if Suu Kyi was still stubborn, it would be helpless for her". "The prime minister said the [Myanmar] regime [has] clearly shown its sincerity in opening up itself [and] should be given time and support," the paper quoted Thaksin as having said. ASEAN's inaction after the US government reported Suu Kyi's hunger strike on Sunday, and denied by Yangon, is a bitter blow to political activists in exile. "We were upbeat in June after the pressure ASEAN foreign ministers put on Burma and the statements that followed. But now we are not sure how sincere they were," said Soe Aung, external-affairs director of the Network for Democracy and Development, a Thailand-based body of Myanmar exiles. "Our disappointment level has dropped below zero." The lack of immediate and open sympathy by ASEAN toward Suu Kyi reveals the "still unclear policy ASEAN members have" toward Myanmar, he added. "It appears that they are willing to place their own economic considerations above the suffering that the people of Burma have to endure." (The junta officially renamed the country Myanmar in 1989, but many exiles and others prefer the old name, Burma.) The United Nations, on the other hand, did react to the hunger-strike report and has called on Yangon's junta to release Suu Kyi and other opposition members. "Although restrictions on information make it impossible to confirm this news, the special rapporteur remains gravely concerned by the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi in an undisclosed location, as well as by the impact of her confinement on her safety and health," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN special rapporteur on human rights for Myanmar, said in a statement released on Tuesday. Pinheiro said he was "deeply disturbed" by the unconfirmed report that Suu Kyi had launched a hunger strike. The government of Myanmar is responsible "for her protection and safety", his statement added. Global human-rights lobbies such as the London-based Amnesty International have also expressed concern. In a statement released on Tuesday, Amnesty said the political climate in Myanmar has been deteriorating since the May 30 arrest of Suu Kyi. "There have been reports that those detained on May 30 have been ill-treated in detention, and that many are suffering from illness exacerbated by their treatment in detention," Amnesty said. It also said that political activists are still being arrested. "At least 75 additional people have been arrested since events on May 30, in many instances on account of their calls for an investigation into the attack and release of those detained on May 30," Amnesty said. According to available reports, the junta is holding more than 1,300 political prisoners, including elected members of parliament. Consequently, Myanmar watchers have dismissed as another charade the wide-ranging policy statement revealed over the weekend by the country's newly appointed prime minister, General Khin Nyunt. "It is all propaganda. There is nothing new. The so-called 'roadmap' mentioned to bring peace to Burma is disgusting," said Asda Jayanama, a former Thai diplomat who served in Yangon. On Saturday, Khin Nyunt said Yangon will resume work to pave the way for political reform. But he failed to divulge a timetable for this journey toward peace and reconciliation or state a role for Suu Kyi and the country's opposition parties. (Inter Press Service) Member |
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