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BURMA RELATED NEWS - November 26, 2004 AFP - Myanmar to release another 5,000 prisoners YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta is going ahead with its promised mass release of prisoners and a top dissident who was democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's closest aide will be among them, a senior official said on Thursday. "If we fail to keep our word, then we will face more pressure, not only from our side, but from the West," Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu told Reuters in an interview. "So we want to do that," he said, disputing reports that the mass release of nearly 4,000 prisoners promised last week was fizzling out. Part of the problem for the perceived slowness of the releases promised last Tursday was the time it took to transport prisoners to Yangon from jails around the country, he said. "Most have already been sent to Yangon and then they will be formally released," he said in an exclusive interview in the capital of the former Burma. But Kyaw Thu said he did not know when Suu Kyi would be freed from house arrest at her lakeside villa in Yangon, where she is without a telephone and requires military permission to receive visitors. "I don't know when this house arrest will be lifted," he said. The same applied to Tin Oo, deputy leader of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, he added. However, Win Tin, Suu Kyi's closest aide until jailed in 1989 and now 74, was one of those to be freed, Kyaw Thu said. "Win Tin is already on the list," he said. "We could not have decreed it without really having the intention to release them." Relatives of those jailed, often under harsh conditions, had grown increasingly despondent this week as the rush of releases appeared to end. On Friday, the day after the government said it would free 3,937 people held in jails around the country, more than 200 prisoners were freed. Among them was Min Ko Naing -- the now 42-year-old leader of a student campaign for democracy crushed ruthlessly by the military in 1988 -- the second most prominent political prisoner after Suu Kyi. But relatives of some of the most senior of the estimated 1,300-1,400 political prisoners in Myanmar said on Wednesday none had been released since Saturday. Only about two dozen prisoners of conscience had been released altogether so far, opposition sources said. VIENTIANE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - With the clock ticking to Myanmar's scheduled leadership of ASEAN in 2006, Southeast Asian leaders meeting next week are likely to ask the junta tough questions about its faltering progress towards democracy. For once, however, Yangon's reclusive generals will not be the only ones in the hot-seat at the annual summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), being held this year in the Lao capital, Vientiane. Thailand's handling of the unchecked violence in its Muslim south, which has claimed nearly 500 lives this year, has strained diplomatic ties with fellow ASEAN member Malaysia and sparked outrage in Muslim nations such as Indonesia. It has also stoked fears as far away as Washington that the poorly policed region along the Malaysia border might become a breeding ground for international militant groups such as al Qaeda or its local affiliate Jemaah Islamiah. As usual with ASEAN, a ten-member grouping loath to interfere in a member's internal affairs, a public airing of dirty laundry is highly unlikely. But as a former champion of institutional openness -- or "flexible intervention" -- in the 1990s, Thailand could come under pressure to reveal what it is doing to deal with a century-old problem which now has regional implications. "The chicken has really come home to roost," said K.S. Nathan of Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies. "The Thais will be forced to assert the principle of non-interference." Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made it quite clear on Thursday he would brook no criticism from his peers. "If there is any attempt to raise the issue at the ASEAN summit, I will fly straight home. I will treat it as a serious breach of etiquette," he told reporters. HOW'S THAT ROADMAP? ASEAN's members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines -- are also likely to have a "robust" chat on the subject of Myanmar democracy, according to group secretary-general Ong Keng Yong. At last year's summit, Yangon won formal support for a "roadmap to democracy", but since that meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, the only movement appears to have been backwards. Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and Khin Nyunt, the prime minister who introduced the "roadmap" -- which Western governments have derided as a sham -- was purged last month. However, Yangon insisted the plan was still on track. "The new prime minster will be taking that message to the ASEAN summit," Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu told Reuters in an exclusive interview in the capital of the former Burma. "He will give an assurance to other heads of state and government that the roadmap is still on. There is no option apart from this seven step road map." Kyaw Thu said Yangon would not shirk its responsibilities when Myanmar assumes the rotating leadership of one of the few international groups to admit the otherwise spurned junta. "We have to take our turn unless the other nine countries say differently. We will not shy away from our duty," he said. He said the military was going ahead with its promised mass release of prisoners and a top dissident who was San Suu Kyi's closest aide will be among them. TRADE DEALS The sleepy Lao capital will also host Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts as ASEAN firms up a number of regional trade deals. Prominent among these are two agreements that will flesh out a China-ASEAN free-trade area aimed at creating a unified market of 1.8 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of $2 trillion. Analysts say the main challenge for the smaller countries of ASEAN is to be able to guide the process of trade liberalisation, rather than be pushed around by the economic giants involved in the so-called "ASEAN+3" process. "ASEAN wants to take the leadership on trade issues, but the reality is that these meetings are becoming more like '3+ASEAN' than 'ASEAN +3'," said Hiro Katsumata of Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar announced it is to free more than 5,000 prisoners on top of the nearly 4,000 announced last week, state radio said. The announcement said another 5,311 prisoners jailed "improperly" would be freed in addition to the 3,937 people announced a week ago, taking the total to 9,248. Only several hundred have been released so far including less than 30 political dissidents in a single day of releases last Friday, according to witnesses and the opposition. It was not clear how many political prisoners would be released or when the programme would be completed but it comes just before the region's leaders meet in Laos for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which starts on November 29. Prison insiders said that the first batch of releases had been delayed because of confusion surrounding the large numbers and sorting out who was due for release. However, a small group of inmates was freed from Myanmar's largest jail Thursday, restarting the mass release programme after a six-day delay. Two dozen inmates, mostly jailed for petty crimes, walked out of Insein jail on the outskirts of the capital Yangon Thursday afternoon, an AFP correspondent saw. State radio Thursday followed the pattern of last week's announcement saying that the National Intelligence Bureau may have used "irregular and improper" means to put the inmates into jail. The National Intelligence Bureau, which gave officers loyal to deposed premier Khin Nyunt widespread powers, was abolished late last month. Khin Nyunt, the head of military intelligence for two decades, was ousted in mid-October and is under house arrest over corruption allegations. His removal followed a purge of military intelligence ranks of officers loyal to him and was seen as a move by Than Shwe, the head of the junta known as the State Peace and Development Council, to consolidate control over the leadership. Amnesty International in its 2004 report said more than 1,350 political prisoners remained imprisoned in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Myanmar has never admitted to holding political prisoners. The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962 despite the opposition National League for Democracy winning a landslide election in 1990. The Asian nation has been under international pressure over human rights and democracy, in particular because of the National League for Democracy's Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, who lives under house arrest. There has been no signs of security mounted by the regime easing around her home in the last week. She has been held since a pro-junta mob attacked her convoy in May 2003. YANGON (AFP) - A small group of inmates was freed from Myanmar's largest jail, restarting a promised mass release programme of nearly 4,000 people after a six-day delay. A dozen inmates, mostly jailed for petty crimes, walked out of Insein jail on the outskirts of the capital Yangon Thursday afternoon, an AFP correspondent saw. Myanmar's military rulers announced November 18 the planned release of 3,937 people from prisons across the country. It said they may have been wrongly jailed by its military intelligence wing. The branch used to be headed by General Khin Nyunt until he was ousted as prime minister last month and put under house arrest for alleged corruption during a top-level power struggle. Military intelligence has since been purged of his supporters. Only several hundred people were released last Friday. Fewer than 30 of them were dissidents but they included the leader of 1988 student protests, Min Ko Naing. He was the country's number two political prisoner after the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest since May last year. The NLD said it expected the 4,000 to be released eventually, with about a tenth of them dissidents. "I estimate that about 400 political prisoners will be released," said party spokesman U Lwin. Amnesty International says there are about 1,350 political prisoners in Myanmar, including NLD members and others. Trucks were seen bringing inmates to Insein jail this week where there were problems trying to work out who was to be released, according to a prison source. Lists had been sent to some of the estimated 40 jails elsewhere in the country but there was confusion at Insein because many of the prisoners had similar names, according to the source. A Yangon-based analyst said prisoners were likely to be released in a phased programme because of fears of releasing several dissidents at the same time. Intelligence agencies have been weakened by the purge of those loyal to Khin Nyunt, making it more difficult to keep tabs on released prisoners, the analyst said. One opposition MP whose release was expected was told he faced an additional 60 days in prison, his family told AFP this week. The extension of jail terms is a popular tactic if the military is not ready to free a political prisoner. The NLD has launched a legal challenge against the imprisonment of four party members despite the promised releases, a party legal adviser said. They were jailed for seven years in September for sending NLD party material to the town of Mae Sot across the border in Thailand, lawyer Nyan Win told AFP. The NLD won elections by a landslide in 1990 but has never been allowed to govern by the military, which has run the nation since 1962. YANGON (AFP) - The Myanmar opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi has launched a legal challenge against the imprisonment of four party members despite a promise by the military regime to release nearly 4,000 inmates, a party legal adviser said. The four were jailed for seven years in September for distributing National League for Democracy (NLD) party material to the town of Mae Sot across the border in Thailand, lawyer Nyan Win told AFP on Thursday. "Although we and their family members have been expecting that they could be released... we will continue to do our job for our members," he said. An appeal was lodged with a Yangon court on Wednesday. Lawyer Tin Myint, 58, San Ya, 38, Than Than Htay, 48, and Yi Yi Win, 45, were all jailed after being convicted based on allegations from members of Myanmar's military intelligence. General Khin Nyunt, the former premier ousted last month and put under house arrest for corruption, was also the head of military intelligence and his removal sparked a purge within its ranks. Mynamar's junta last week ordered the release of 3,937 people whom it said may have been wrongly imprisoned by military intelligence. But so far only several hundred have been released, including fewer then 30 members of the opposition. Imphal, Nov. 24: Delhi has given its nod to a project to connect Manipur with Mandalay, in neighbouring Myanmar, by rail. The project will be undertaken after the extension of the track from Jiribam, which is at present Manipur’s lone railhead, to Imphal via Tupul in Tamenglong district. Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh made the announcement at a reception for participants in the Indo-Asean car rally at the main stadium of Imphal’s Khuman Lampak Sports Complex. He described the proposal as a natural progression of Delhi’s “look east” policy. Ibobi Singh said a feasibility survey for the proposed Imphal-Moreh rail link would get under way next month. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation of the Rs 727-crore Imphal-Tupul rail project during his visit to the state last weekend. Praising the Prime Minister’s initiatives, Ibobi Singh said the proposed New Imphal-Mandalay project would be a part of the trans-Asean railway line. “In pursuance of its ‘look east’ policy, the Centre has already decided to focus on improving infrastructure in the region, and a trans-Asean highway will pave the way for much stronger economic and social interaction with our neighbouring countries.” A large crowd turned up at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex for the reception accorded to those participating in the Indo-Asean rally, which was flagged off by the Prime Minister in Guwahati on Monday. But the vehicles rolled out of the city only yesterday. The rallyists, representing nine countries, were treated to a colourful cultural programme and local cuisine. Those who expected Manipur to be grim after reading media reports about the continuing agitation against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act were pleasantly surprised to see the festive atmosphere. “This is my first visit to India and felt secure the moment I saw the large number of people who had come out to receive us. All of us had a great time. Thank you,” said the youngest participant, 19-year-old Chansala from Cambodia. The cavalcade was escorted from Mao to Imphal, and then to Moreh, by a team of securitymen led by Dhanakumar Singh, commandant of the 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion. (Kyodo) _ Myanmar and Qatar have signed a bilateral air services agreement in Yangon to promote trade, tourism and investment, state-run newspapers reported Thursday. The director general of Myanmar's Civil Aviation Department, Brig. Gen. Myo Tin, and Abdulaziz Mohammed, managing director of Qatar's Civil Aviation Authority, signed the agreement on Wednesday. According to the pact, one or more airlines can be designated representing their respective countries to operate air services between the two countries on specified routes. Designated airlines can operate 14 weekly services between the two countries. Qatar is planning to operate four weekly services between Doha and Yangon early next year. State-run Myanmar Airways International is also planning to operate passenger flights on the Yangon-Doha route and to some Europe destinations in cooperation with Qatar Airways. (Kyodo) _ Four separate agreements have been signed in Yangon over the past three days for total grants of $197,193 under Japan's Grassroots Grant Assistance program, the Japanese Embassy said Thursday. Two agreements were signed Tuesday, one for a $70,142 grant to supply physiotherapy equipment to the Home For the Aged in Yangon, and the other, $59,273, to build a new school building in Nyaung-saye village, 220 kilometers northwest of the Myanmar capital. An agreement for $11,930 was signed Wednesday for a community water supply project in Muse Township, 700 kilometers north of Yangon near the border with China and an agreement for $55,848 was signed Thursday to build a primary school building in Dala, opposite Yangon across the Yangon River. The agreements were signed between the embassy's deputy chief of mission Hiroshi Kawamura and representatives of the recipient organizations. (Kyodo) _ Laos has spruced up its capital Vientiane in preparation for the biggest regional meeting the country has ever hosted. Leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will converge on this sleepy capital of one of the world's poorest countries for their annual summit on Monday, which will be preceded by meetings among their ministers and senior officials. Their counterparts from countries outside the region, namely Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, are also gathering here for group meetings immediately after the ASEAN summit. Vientiane, the capital of a largely rural and agricultural-based country, is already stirring with senior officials flying in earlier this week to lay the groundwork for the spate of meetings that will last until the end of the month. They started their preparatory meeting here on Thursday. Laotian officials said they are expecting more than 1,200 government officials, 500 business delegates here for a related business conference, and 800 foreign journalists. The crowd has already strained demands on facilities in Vientiane, which has about 4,500 rooms from hotels and guesthouses at most, of which 3,000 are deemed by Laotian officials to be fit for delegates and journalists. In a bid to ensure there are enough hotel rooms, the government has stopped tourists from entering Vientiane during this period, leaving some businessmen and visitors fuming at the country's entry points and borders. A Laotian senior official on Wednesday even apologized to journalists about the fact many of them had to make do with staying in accommodation of a lesser standard than what they were used to elsewhere. The government has spent millions of dollars, mainly with the aid of countries such as Japan and China, to build new complexes to hold the summit and a new five-star hotel. It has also repaired some of the capital's pot-holed roads and shooed away motorized tricycles and small street food vendors that normally clutter the side streets. Japan has helped build the International Cooperation and Training Center, a small complex that will host the ASEAN-plus-three summit with Japan, China and South Korea, and two other summits involving the Indo-Chinese member countries of ASEAN. Thousands of security personnel have also been mobilized to protect delegates and journalists. But the atmosphere is far from tense despite a recent U.S. government warning of a security risk from groups opposed to the government during the summit. ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Dhaka, Nov 25 (PTI) Bangladesh would discuss with India and Myanmar cooperation in energy sector in a crucial meeting slated to be held in Yangon in January. However, the minister said, "there has been no formal proposal from India as yet." Mosharraf also said the Cabinet of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was yet to approve a cross-country gas pipeline project. "I hope it will be okayed," he said. PTI The India-ASEAN car rally embarked on its Eastward journey after crossing over to Myanmar via the Moreh-Tamu border. The caravan of cars, carrying the message of peace and brotherhood, was accompanied by an army convoy and helicopters throughout the route from Kohima to the Moreh-Tamu border. The rally had arrived in Nagaland via Manipur where Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, flagged it off at Khunam Lampak main stadium in Imphal. Participants were greeted by bystanders from Mao on Manipur-Nagaland border to Khuman Lampak stadium. The rally reached Moreh, about 120 km. south-east of Imphal, at around 5 pm after travelling through the Mao-Imphal-Moreh NH 39. KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said the ministry has received no directive so far to recognise Myanmar Muslims or Rohingyas in the country as refugees. "The government is still reviewing the status of Rohingyas and so far, there's no directive to recognise them as refugees," he said when met by reporters at the Parliament lobby here Thursday. Tan was asked whether Rohingyas in the country were issued the IMM13 document, an Immigration pass for stateless people. The pass allows the holder to live and work in Malaysia while his or her children can attend school in addition to access to medical treatment just like other foreign nationals with valid travel documents. There are some 10,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia. They first came to the country 1984 but in 1992 they arrived in large number following trouble in Myanmar. Last month, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz announced that Rohingyas with identification cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would be recognised as refugees in Malaysia. On the IMM13 passes, Tan said that up to last July 31 there were 224,678 pass holders including Philippine refugees in Sabah (61,314), sugarcane and rubber plantation workers, mostly Thais working and living in Kedah (139,020), permanent residents and foreign wives of Malaysians. The IMM13 pass is renewed annually for RM90. On fake IMM13, he said a study was being carried on the possibility of replacing it with biometrics smartcard as one way of fighting forgery. -- BERNAMA SOE WIN, Myanmar's new prime minister, has undergone quite a career change. Until last month, he was a lifelong soldier and the third-ranking member of Myanmar's military junta, the State Peace and Development Council. Many democracy activists, along with the government of America, accused him of masterminding a bloody ambush last year on the motorcade of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most famous dissident and winner of the Nobel peace prize. Now he must talk up the very process he was allegedly trying to derail: Myanmar's long-awaited transition to democracy. At the annual summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which opens in Laos on November 29th, he will brief his counterparts on Myanmar's progress. There will be little to say. Miss Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since last May—the most recent of several prolonged spells in detention. The regime has shut all but one office of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In theory, it is still implementing a seven-point “road map” to put an end to 42 years of military rule. But the first step on the road, the drafting of a new constitution, has been entrusted to a convention stacked with government stooges, which the NLD is boycotting. The convention is due to reconvene in February, to rubber-stamp a draft constitution which would, among other things, reserve a quarter of seats in parliament for the army and bar Miss Suu Kyi from high office. Ultimately, many observers believe, the army hopes to legitimate its rule by rigging a notionally democratic system in favour of its supporters, a tactic it first tried in 1990, only to have its plans backfire when the NLD swept the board. The biggest change since the previous ASEAN summit is the sacking of General Khin Nyunt, the former prime minister and cheerleader-in-chief for the road map. On the face of things, his arrest last month should make little difference. The junta is strenuously insisting that its policies have not changed, even if its personnel has. Than Shwe, the top general, will continue to make all important decisions. Anyway, Mr Khin Nyunt was just as implausible a democrat as Mr Soe Win. For almost 20 years, he headed military intelligence, the agency responsible for repressing dissent. But Mr Khin Nyunt's removal has caused great disruption, as the junta attempts to purge the government of his allies. A supreme-court justice was the latest to go, last week. Many of the myriad functions of his intelligence empire, such as media censorship and control of immigration, are being assigned to other agencies. Businessmen and diplomats complain that no one in the government dares take responsibility for any decisions in the midst of this reshuffle. The government is also unravelling Mr Khin Nyunt's business empire. It has shut down a travel agency owned by military intelligence and is trying to sell off the spooks' stakes in various hotels. It also appears to have taken over Bagan Cybertech, Myanmar's main internet service provider, which was run by Mr Khin Nyunt's son. It is even impounding the unlicensed cars that Mr Khin Nyunt's subordinates smuggled into the country through border checkpoints under their control. Mr Khin Nyunt and his intelligence colleagues, it seems, had gone even further than the rest of the top brass in exploiting their positions for financial gain—one of the reasons for his downfall, perhaps. The junta has accused them of amassing 3 billion kyat ($3.1m), 42 tonnes of jade and 1,300 pearls in just three months at one border crossing alone. Divvying up such spoils will doubtless preoccupy the other generals for some time to come. Another of Mr Khin Nyunt's responsibilities was to handle relations with the 17 former insurgent groups with which he had previously brokered informal ceasefires. These guerrillas, from ethnic minorities for the most part, are now worried that Mr Khin Nyunt's demise will impinge on their ill-defined autonomy. Rumours are circulating in Yangon that the junta wants to sign written agreements which would require the ethnic militias to stop recruiting and training, for example. A delegation from the Karen National Union, an insurgent outfit which was negotiating a ceasefire with Mr Khin Nyunt in Yangon at the time of his arrest, had to give up and go home, since following his fall the government was apparently unable to find anyone else suitable to speak to them on its behalf. As if to prove that Mr Khin Nyunt was not the only person who could get anything done in Myanmar, the government did recently announce that it was releasing 4,000 prisoners, including 30 of the country's 1,300-odd political ones. The most famous of them, nicknamed Min Ko Naing, or “Conqueror of Kings”, has been jailed since 1989 for leading peaceful demonstrations against military rule. ASEAN might seize on this gesture as proof that the regime is still moving in the right direction without Mr Khin Nyunt. After all, the club's members have long declined to interfere in one another's internal affairs. The summit is taking place in communist Laos, where dissidents also vanish. But ASEAN's more progressive members are increasingly uneasy about being represented by Myanmar, which is due to take over the group's presidency in 2006. Malaysia, for one, has argued that ASEAN's credibility rests on persuading Myanmar to take more substantial steps toward democracy. Indonesia, which recently underwent a successful transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, could also act as a voice of reason. And Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, who feted Mr Khin Nyunt as a man the world could do business with, now has egg on his face. Myanmar's military rulers, by contrast, seem to be entirely impervious to embarrassment. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, today opened its pre-summit meeting in Laos with free trade and regional security high on the agenda. But the issue of political reform in Burma has re-emerged as a major topic of discussion. Senior Burmese officials say its internal affairs should not be discussed at next week's summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as it would break with ASEAN tradition of non-interference. ASEAN members have been warning Burma however that its standing in the group may be affected if it does not address human rights concerns - including the continued detention of pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. There is also concern that Burma's military leadership last month replaced its moderate prime minister, with a hardliner on political reform. Thai officials have said Burma might be mentioned in an official communiqué at the summit. But Burma says it is pursuing a roadmap toward democracy - vaguely outlined last year. Burma this week released several-hundred prisoners of a promised four thousand. They included prominent pro-democracy activists, but there has been no mention of whether the release will include Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, ASEAN officials spent the first day of meetings polishing numerous draft resolutions, one of which is a plan to remove tariffs between its 10 member nations in six years. Summit spokesman, Yong Chantalangsy, says the proposal, called Bali Concord Two, is strategically important for ASEAN. "Bali Concord Two will strengthen ASEAN and will transform ASEAN from an association to a community." ASEAN is also looking to expand trade in goods with the region's economic powerhouse, China. ASEAN official, Ong Keng Yong, says the group will sign a landmark framework agreement with China. "It is the first part of the framework agreement towards creating an ASEAN-China free trade area that was agreed in Bali last year." He says agreements on services and investment will follow next. An ASEAN-China FTA will create a free trade area for nearly two billion people in Asia. ASEAN leaders are also to meet with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and India with an eye toward creating an East Asia economic community. Regional security, disease outbreaks and international terrorism are also topics expected to be discussed during the two-day summit that ends Tuesday. Military-ruled Myanmar, formally known as Burma and facing censure by Southeast Asian colleagues over its dismal democracy record, has given a pre-emptive warning that it does not want its internal affairs to be discussed at the ASEAN summit in Laos. The sacking in October of Myanmar’s prime minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, and his replacement with Lt. Gen. Soe Win, viewed as a hardliner, has widely interpreted as meaning that the government’s professed goal of introducing democracy has stalled. In a break from protocol, the situation in Myanmar was likely to be mentioned in the final statement of leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ 10 members during their two-day summit opening Monday, according to Thai officials. The new Myanmar prime minister also was expected to be questioned by his counterparts during private discussions at the conference in the Laotian capital. But Thuang Tun, a senior official of Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, sought to dissuade any such talk. “I don’t think the ASEAN would want to discuss internal affairs. Everybody has internal affairs, but you know in every country there are transformations, including Myanmar,” he said. ASEAN members have a tradition of avoiding interference in each other’s internal affairs. But the international outcry over Myanmar’s continued detention of democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi has made neighbouring countries uneasy. European objections to Myanmar’s participation in a Europe-Asia summit last month in Vietnam nearly scuttled that meeting. |
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