Mr. Ong Keng Yong,

Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations

Excellency,

ASEAN must do more to support democracy and peace in Burma

On behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), I would like to express our deepest concern regarding the deterioration of the political situation and human rights in Burma.

We were initially encouraged by initiatives in the region in support of change. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) discussed many aspects of the situation in Burma during the Phnom Penh Ministerial Meeting in June and urged the Burmese Government to resume its efforts of national reconciliation and dialogue among all parties concerned leading to a peaceful transition to democracy. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) gave assurance to ASEAN that the measures taken following the incident were temporary and looked forward to the early lifting of restrictions placed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) .

Until now, however, there has been no sign that the SPDC is at all sincere about keeping its promises for the restoration of democracy and peace in Burma. We have seen some changes in Burma recently, however the question remains as to whether these signal any change for the better. The reshuffle of the SPDC and cabinet members, followed by Prime Minister Khin Nyunt s inaugural speech, indicate that the SPDC is determined to maintain its grip on power and that these changes were only intended to smooth over the ongoing suppression of democracy and human rights.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, democratic leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is still in detention following a brutal attack on her and supporters of the NLD by armed groups loyal to the SPDC three months ago. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) was allowed to visit her on 6 September, but was unable to give details on her whereabouts or any timeframe for her release. The assurances given by the Burmese Government regarding the welfare and safety of Daw Anung San Suu Kyi have been invalidated by reports that she underwent surgery for a gynaecological condition. Details of her condition are not fully available, and the hospital has been guarded closely by undercover police and military intelligence officers.

While there has been no acceptable explanation for the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the SPDC is also yet to explain the over 100 NLD supporters reportedly missing or dead after the attack on 30 May 2003, which has been dubbed Black Friday . Regardless of appeals from the international community, extreme abuses against the pro-democracy movement in Burma continue, with arrests of pro-democracy activists from all ethnic nationalities resulting in more than 1,000 political prisoners being held in detention.

In the present situation, the SPDC has created an environment totally unsuitable for political dialogue with democratic groups and ethnic nationalities. No progress is possible without the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the others who have been detained for peacefully expressing their political views.

Democracy means pluralism, which means many political parties and many strands of thought, and the people of Burma have waited far too long for the opportunity to participate in the governing of their own country. Actions taken by the Burmese government continue to seriously hinder the process of national reconciliation and a peaceful transition to peace and democracy, and are inconsistent with the will and rights of the people.

For ASEAN, which accepted Burma as its member in 1997, there is an undeniable responsibility to undertake the utmost effort to stop the Burmese Government from continuing to violate human rights and undermine democracy. Apart from putting a permanent stain on the international reputation of ASEAN, it is obvious that protracted armed conflict, political oppression and socio-economic mismanagement by the SPDC will make it unlikely for ASEAN to achieve its aspiration to make Southeast Asia a community of security and prosperity for all.

After attempts made by individual member countries have failed to achieve substantial results in negotiating the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the restoration of dialogue for peace and democracy in Burma, it is now time for ASEAN to act together and exert collective pressure on the Burmese Government.

We urge ASEAN to use the next week's Meeting of Foreign Ministers in New York, and the 7-8 October Summit Meeting in Bali as venues to tell the Burmese Government in one voice that Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners must be freed immediately and unconditionally as a precondition for any future political process, and that genuine democracy and peace in Burma can only be achieved by allowing the NLD and democratic groups from all ethnic nationalities to be included and consulted in the plans for transition outlined in Prime Minister Khin Nyunt s inaugural speech. The Burmese Government should be obliged to provide a safe environment, beginning with the immediate and unconditional reopening of political party offices as well as the guarantee of basic freedoms such as freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and freedom of _expression.

We urge the Thai Government in particular to adhere to its previous promise to support Burma s reconciliation and democratization. Claiming the need to maintain friendship with the Burmese Government and "keep order in the country", a number of immigration and internal security measures have recently been enforced by the Thai Government to restrict the activities of both pro-democracy activists taking refuge in Thailand and non-governmental organizations working to promote democracy and human rights in Burma. We are concerned that actions taken by the Thai Government are not only inconsistent with ASEAN s common position adopted at the Phnom Penh Ministerial Meeting, but will also seriously impede international efforts to stop the oppression of democracy and violation of human rights in Burma.

We thank you for your consideration of these urgent issues.

Sincerely,

[Signed]

Somchai Homlaor,

Secretary-General