News & Articles on Burma, Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Jul 22nd, 2009
Clinton says ASEAN should consider Myanmar’s expulsion
Clinton urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi
Clinton Declares the US ‘Is Back’ in Asia
Myanmar authorities forbid Suu Kyi’s lawyers from meeting her
Crackdown on Passport Brokers Linked to Leaked Photos?
Monks harassed by authorities
US House Approves Extension of Ban on Imports from Burma
US seeks allies’ aid on Burma
Compromising – even on human rights
EDITORIAL Asean takes a step back
Clinton condemns Myanmar’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi
Suu Kyi is a ray of hope for Myanmar
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Clinton says ASEAN should consider Myanmar’s expulsion
Posted: 22 July 2009 1833 hrs
PHUKET, Thailand – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should consider expelling Myanmar if it does not release imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.
Asked on Thai television whether ASEAN should kick out the military-ruled member state if it does not free the pro-democracy leader, Clinton replied: “It would be an appropriate policy change to consider.”
Myanmar — ASEAN’s problem child since it joined the bloc in 1997 — recently sparked outrage by putting the Nobel peace laureate on trial over an incident in which an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside house.
“I regret deeply this unfortunate incident, which she had nothing to do with, and which served as an excuse for them to put her on trial,” Clinton said, referring to Yettaw’s uninvited intrusion.
The ruling junta snubbed United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by refusing to let him visit Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon’s notorious Insein prison, deepening concerns in the international community.
US President Barack Obama has described the court proceedings as a “show trial” and Myanmar has already been slapped with US sanctions for its detention of political prisoners.
On Tuesday Clinton also said she was “deeply concerned” by reports of human rights in Myanmar, “particularly by actions that are attributed to the Burmese military concerning the mistreatment and abuse of young girls.”
Concerns over Myanmar’s possible military cooperation with North Korea are set to dominate discussions at Asia’s biggest security forum in the Thai resort island of Phuket, where Clinton arrived on Wednesday from Bangkok.
Responding to Clinton, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country, an ASEAN member, opposed expelling Myanmar from the bloc.
“We are still in favour of discussing with Myanmar so that they will be serious in implementing the roadmap towards democratisation,” Najib told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win met his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi Nakasone in Phuket on Wednesday, and the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi came up, a spokesman for the Japanese minister said.
Nakasone urged Myanmar to release all political prisoners, resume dialogue with the opposition and prepare a “positive environment” for elections promised by the ruling generals in 2010, the spokesman said.
Nyan Win “listened very carefully” and explained that Myanmar “did its best to assist” Ban when he visited the country earlier this month, added the spokesman.
Nyan Win said Myanmar’s government “responded as they believed appropriate” to Ban’s request to visit her, the Japanese spokesman said.
- AFP/ir http://www.channelnewsasia.
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Clinton urges Myanmar to free Suu Kyi
AFP
PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged Myanmar to free democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying such a move could pave the way for investments from the United States.
“If she were released that would open up opportunities at least for my country to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma,” she said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
Speaking after meetings in Phuket on the eve of Asia’s biggest annual security forum, she said such opportunities were “up to the Burmese leadership”.
Military-ruled Myanmar recently sparked outrage by putting Aung San Suu Kyi on trial in prison over an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house.
US President Barack Obama has described the court proceedings as a “show trial” and Myanmar has already been slapped with US sanctions for its detention of thousands of political prisoners.
Clinton said that while countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were moving “in a very positive direction”, Myanmar was “moving in the opposite direction”.
“We have been very clear in stating that the United States would like to see changes in the behaviour of the regime in Burma” she said, adding that the release of Aung San Suu Kyi was “critical”.
Earlier Wednesday she said ASEAN should consider expelling Myanmar — the bloc’s problem child since it joined in 1997 — if it does not release the imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate.
Referring to US man John Yettaw’s uninvited visit to Aung San Suu Kyi, Clinton said: “I regret deeply this unfortunate incident, which she had nothing to do with, and which served as an excuse for them to put her on trial.”
The pro-democracy leader has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in elections in 1990.
Critics of Myanmar’s regime believe the trial is a ploy to keep her locked up for elections scheduled for next year.
Clinton reiterated concerns about possible cooperation over nuclear weaponry between Myanmar and fellow pariah state North Korea, one of the issues that is dominating the talks in Phuket.
On Tuesday Clinton also said she was “deeply concerned” by reports of human rights abuses in Myanmar, “particularly by actions that are attributed to the Burmese military concerning the mistreatment and abuse of young girls.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
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Clinton Declares the US ‘Is Back’ in Asia
By ROBERT BURNS / AP WRITER Wednesday, July 22, 2009
BANGKOK — on her second trip to Asia as US secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton is carrying a no-nonsense message about American intentions.
“The United States is back,” she declared Tuesday upon arrival in the Thai capital.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) speaks during a press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu (R) at the Governement house in Bangkok on July 21. (Photo: Getty Images)
By that she means the administration of President Barack Obama thinks it’s time to show Asian nations that the United States is not distracted by its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and intends to broaden and deepen its partnerships in this region.
Clinton trumpeted that line Wednesday in an appearance with a prominent TV personality before flying to a seaside resort at Phuket for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Burma and a range of other regional issues.
Clinton said she would, as previously announced, sign Asean’s seminal Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a commitment to peacefully resolve regional disputes that has already been signed by more than a dozen countries outside the 10-nation bloc.
The US signing will be by the executive authority of Obama and does not require congressional ratification, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the move publicly.
The administration of President George W Bush had declined to sign the document; Obama sees it as a symbolic underscoring of the US commitment to Asia.
On her arrival here Tuesday, Clinton reiterated Obama administration concerns that North Korea, already a threat to the US and its neighbors with its history of illicit sales of missiles and nuclear technology, is now developing ties to Burma’s military dictatorship.
Clinton held out the possibility of offering North Korea a new set of incentives to return to negotiating a dismantling of its nuclear program if it shows a “willingness to take a different path.” But she admitted there is little immediate chance of that.
A Clinton aide said the United States and its allies are looking for a commitment by North Korea that would irreversibly end its nuclear weapons program. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal US government deliberations, said there is no sign that North Korea intends to make such a move, keeping the US focus on enforcing expanded UN sanctions.
In her remarks about a possible Burma-North Korea connection, Clinton did not refer explicitly to a nuclear link but made clear that the ties are disconcerting.
“We know there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma which we take very seriously,” she said at a news conference in the Thai capital.
“It would be destabilizing for the region, it would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors,” she said, adding that as a treaty ally of Thailand, the United States takes the matter seriously.
Later, a senior administration official said that Washington is concerned about the possibility that North Korea could be cooperating with Burma on a nuclear weapons program, but he added that US intelligence information on this is incomplete. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter.
The United States, in a joint effort with South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, is attempting to use UN sanctions as leverage to compel North Korea to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. A major element of the international concern about North Korea is the prospect of nuclear proliferation, which could lead to a nuclear arms race in Asia and beyond.
Clinton spoke to reporters after meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the outset of a three-day visit to Thailand.
Clinton sharply criticized the military rulers of Burma for human rights abuses, “particularly violent actions that are attributed to the Burmese military concerning the mistreatment and abuse of young girls.”
She said an Obama administration policy review on Burma is on hold pending the outcome of the trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest. The Noble Peace Prize laureate faces up to five years in prison if convicted, as expected.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
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Myanmar authorities forbid Suu Kyi’s lawyers from meeting her
AP: Published: July 22, 2009, 09:38
Yangon: The legal team of Myanmar’s jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been denied access to the 64-year-old Nobel laureate, two days before her trial resumes for final arguments.
One of Suu Kyi’s defence lawyers as well as spokesman for her party says authorities in the military-ruled country denied permission for Suu Kyi’s lawyers to meet her Wednesday to finalise the draft of the 23-page closing argument.
He said, “This (refusal by authorities) shows that the judicial system in the country is very weak. We need to see our clients to finalize the draft and it was very bad that the right has been denied.”
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man. http://archive.gulfnews.com/
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Crackdown on Passport Brokers Linked to Leaked Photos?
By SAW YAN NAING Wednesday, July 22, 2009
At least 10 passport brokers in Rangoon have been arrested by the Burmese authorities during a recent crackdown, according to sources in Rangoon.
Sources close to several passport brokers and the passport issuing office in Rangoon said Burmese intelligence officers had detained dozens of people suspected of dealing in Burmese passports.
The authorities also reportedly questioned staff at the passport issuing office in Rangoon.
One inside source, as well as a Rangoon-based journalist, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the authorities had cracked down on passport brokers because of the “massive corruption” involved in the trade.
Another Rangoon-based source said, “Many people are leaving country at the moment, and they don’t return. So, the authorities want to restrict it.”
Meanwhile, some reports said the crackdown was linked to the army officers who went into hiding over the “Shwe Mann scandal.” It is thought the wanted officers from Naypyidaw would try to leave the country with passports procured through brokers.
Recently, Burmese intelligence officials reportedly launched a crackdown against the army officers suspected of leaking information and photographs about Gen Shwe Mann’s secret trip to North Korea.
Ten high-ranking Burmese army officers were reportedly arrested for leaking confidential information, and will be court-martialed and could face the death penalty if convicted, said a Burmese intelligence official.
Sources said that four suspected Burmese officials had acquired passports through brokers and had already fled the country. Another two were reportedly arrested while in the process of acquiring passports.
The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm the report.
Some officials suspected of complicity had also gone into hiding, sources in Rangoon said.
The Bangkok-based English-language newspaper The Nation reported recently that several senior Burmese officials and some journalists were sacked some weeks ago after publication of photographs and video footage of secret tunnels in Burma surfaced in the international media. Photographs and video footage of a tunnel construction site in Burma were also published by Burmese media organizations.
During his seven-day visit to Pyongyang, Shwe Mann signed a memorandum of understanding at the defense ministry with North Korea’s Chief of General Staff, Gen Kim Kyok-sik, to formalize military cooperation between the two nations.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
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Monks harassed by authorities
July 22, 2009 (DVB)–Monks living in a Rangoon monastery were harassed by authorities last week after accepting food donations from opposition party members given to mark Martyrs’ Day in Burma.
Around 20 officials from Thingangyun township authority in Rangoon arrived at the monastery in Laydauntkan ward where monks had received meals from National League for Democracy (NLD) members, a traditional way to celebrate Martyrs’ Day each year on 19 June.
According to NLD member Naw Ohn Hla, the officials “said intimidating words” to the monks and told them to report future donations to township authorities.
“They issued warnings and interrogated them,” she said. “They asked the monks how the offerings were made, how they were blessed with water, what kind of clothes were worn.”
Authorities threatened to seal off the monastery as had been famously done to Maggin monastery during the September 2007 monk-led uprising.
Monastery abbot, U Kumara, reportedly replied that his monastery had no “complicated matters” like Maggin, but was told by authorities that he had been “tainted with a black spot”.
Ohn Hla was among the 21 NLD members arrested and briefly detained whilst returning from Martyrs’ Mausoleum on Sunday.
“They told us not to wear clothes with [the pictures of] General Aung San,” she said. “When we headed towards the museum, they arrested us on the way.”
A number of those detained were “beaten up severely” and thrown into a van, she said.
Reporting by Naw Noreen http://english.dvb.no/news.
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US House Approves Extension of Ban on Imports from Burma
By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
22 July 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a one year renewal of a ban on imports from Burma. Burma was also the topic of remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate where a Republican senator discussed remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about military cooperation between Burma and North Korea.
In extending the import ban, lawmakers cited oppression by the ruling military government, and what the U.S. and other countries have called a sham trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The import prohibition is contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act Congress approved in 2003 and also applies to direct or third country imports of jade and gemstones from Burma.
New York Democrat Joseph Crowley sponsored the measure renewing the ban, which was approved by voice vote. He referred to the Burmese military government’s rejection of diplomatic efforts aimed at obtaining Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.
“The junta has also rejected recent diplomatic outreach which would have been well-received in the global community,” said Joseph Crowley. “Specifically the junta refused U.N. Secretary General Ban-ki-Moon’s request to release political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the non-violent movement for democracy and human rights in Burma. Not only did the junta refuse Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, they even refused Ban ki-Moon’s request to meet with her. The Burmese regime must be stopped.”
Texas Republican Kevin Brady said while the best hope for change in Burma remains multilateral action, the U.S. must maintain sanctions.
“I view import sanctions with great skepticism and always have,” said Kevin Brady. “But these Burma sanctions are crafted to maximize their ability to effect change.”
Burma was also a topic of discussion in the U.S. Senate where an amendment on North Korea was being considered as part of defense authorization legislation.
Senator Sam Brownback (undated photo)
Senator Sam Brownback (undated photo)
The amendment by Republican Sam Brownback proposed placing North Korea back on the official U.S. government list of nations designated as state sponsors of terrorism, and would have placed the Senate on record supporting “meaningful consequences” for hostile and provocative actions.
North Korea was removed from the list in the waning days of the Bush administration and the Obama administration has been considering whether to re-designate it.
To a list including North Korea’s resumed nuclear activities, missile proliferation, and imprisonment of two American journalists, Brownback added Secretary Clinton’s remarks in Bangkok, Thailand expressing concern about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma.
“Here is today’s Washington Post, this is even new information that I was finding shocking what is taking place, about North Korea building mysterious military ties with the military junta in Burma now taking place and the possibility of them giving military equipment and supplies, I suppose even nuclear arms and missile technology to the military government in Burma,” said Sam Brownback.
In her remarks in Bangkok, Secretary Clinton said the U.S. takes seriously growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which she said would be destabilizing for the region and a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors.
Senator John Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Brownback’s amendment would complicate and undermine delicate diplomatic efforts underway regarding North Korea, including steps to secure the release of American journalists Laura Ling, right, and Euna Lee.
Kerry said the success the U.S. and other nations had in turning around a North Korean ship suspected of carrying arms or other materials from North Korea to Burma demonstrates that such efforts can be effective.
“A North Korean ship suspected of carrying arms to Burma turned around, after it was denied bunkering services in Singapore,” said John Kerry. “And the government of Burma itself warned that the ship would be inspected on arrival to insure that it complied with the U.N. arms embargo. So, that is real, that is happening.”
News reports quoted U.S. officials traveling with Secretary Clinton as saying concerns about Burma and North Korea extend to possible nuclear cooperation, but said information about this is incomplete.
Burma is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires international inspections of any nuclear facilities. Burma signed an agreement with Russia in 2007 for construction of a nuclear research center and 10 megawatt light-water nuclear reactor, which experts said could not be used to develop nuclear weapons and would be subject to inspection.
The Obama administration has been conducting a review of U.S. policy toward Burma, but a final report was delayed, in part to await the outcome of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on charges, widely condemned by the internationally community, of violating the terms of her detention.
http://www.voanews.com/
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US seeks allies’ aid on Burma
Clinton’s assistant holds talks with Puea Thai Party
Writer: ANUCHA CHAROENPO and AEKARACH SATTABURUTH
Published: 22/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The US is pinning its hopes on close cooperation with Thailand and other Asian partners in pressing for change in Burma, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says.
Washington was also continuing to express its concern about the unfair trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Mrs Clinton said yesterday.
“We’re very much engaged with partners such as Thailand and others in assessing and determining what is going on inside Burma,” the secretary of state said after talks with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House.
“And we hope we can effectively change the direction and behaviour of the Burmese leadership. We have been closely working with our partners.”
Mrs Clinton is on an official visit to Thailand and will join her Southeast Asian counterparts in Phuket today for talks, followed by the Asean Regional Forum tomorrow.
The US was very concerned about the continued human rights abuses in Burma and was closely watching the trial of Mrs Suu Kyi, she said.
Mrs Clinton urged the Burmese regime to treat the National League for Democracy leader fairly, saying the junta’s handling of Mrs Suu Kyi’s case was “unacceptable”.
Mrs Suu Kyi has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam across the lake in Rangoon to hide himself in her residence. She is currently being held at Insein prison in Rangoon following her arrest in May.
Mrs Clinton said the US wanted to have a productive partnership with Burma but the junta would need to take a step back in its treatment of its ethnic minorities and all political prisoners as well as the issue of Mrs Suu Kyi. She said Burma knew well that it needed to do this.
The US secretary of state also expressed concern about suspicions of military cooperation between North Korea and Burma.
“We take this matter seriously,” she said, adding it posed a threat to regional stability.
Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu yesterday said Thailand was ready to work closely with the US.
Asean ministers on Monday urged the release of Mrs Suu Kyi and called for fair elections in Burma next year. But they stressed there would be no interference in Burma, which is one of the 10 members of the grouping.
Human Rights Watch yesterday urged Prime Minister Abhisit, who currently chairs Asean, to force Burma to end human rights violations, release political prisoners and restore democracy.
“The role of Asean and Thailand to lead principled international engagement on political, security and humanitarian issues in Burma is urgently needed,” the group said in a letter to Mr Abhisit.
“As the current chair of Asean, Thailand should take Burma to task for breaching the Asean Charter on human rights and democratic values,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Bangkok Post.
There are 2,100 political prisoners in Burmese prisons, according to the New York-based group.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell yesterday held separate talks with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and the Puea Thai Party hours before Mrs Clinton arrived in Bangkok.
Mr Suthep said Mr Campbell had asked Thailand to help support political reconciliation and a road map to democracy in Burma and the release of Mrs Suu Kyi.
Mr Campbell and the US delegation, including US Ambassador to Thailand Eric John, met with Puea Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit and several core members including Yingluck Shinawatra, a sister of convicted former prime minister Thaksin, and former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama.
Later, Pittaya Pukkaman, who heads Puea Thai’s foreign affairs team, said the party explained the current problems with democracy in Thailand as well as human rights to Mr Campbell.
Mr Pittaya said the party also discussed its efforts in pushing for dialogue to solve the problems and the obstacles which hinder such efforts.
“The problem is that we are being treated unfairly which is undermining any negotiation attempts,” he said.
When asked if the issue of the ousted prime minister, Puea Thai’s de facto leader, was raised, Mr Pittaya said the talks did not focus on any individuals.
He said the US delegation expressed hopes the opposition and the government would work together to solve Thailand’s problems through legal and constitutional means. http://www.bangkokpost.com/
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Compromising – even on human rights
Writer: ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Published: 22/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya’s self-indulgent portrayal of a new Asean that needs no outsider’s judgement is no different from the old non-interfering Asean of decades ago.
In rebutting Indonesian discontent over the watered down terms of reference (ToR) of the Asean human rights commission, Thailand has also shunned external criticism of the regional grouping, saying that Asean preferred to fine-tune its work with member states rather than punish each other.
FM Kasit said at the end of the Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on Monday that Asean has opted to work towards conciliation and consultation in an amicable manner when there are differences or non-compliance, including on human rights matters.
The regional human rights body to be launched at the Asean Summit in October under the banner of “Asean Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights” will carry the two-fold mandate of promotion and protection, but deliberations on some controversial aspects of protection would be done by the leaders in three months.
Apart from the new human rights body, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has also tried to come up with a set of dispute settlement mechanisms to deal with rising problems regarding implementation of the Asean Charter and in other grey areas.
However, Mr Kasit firmly said there was no intention to seek out “crime and punishment”.
“We deal with it through good offices first [when problems crop up] and then arbitration. We do it in a civilised way – working together from inside out and not waiting for outsiders to punish us.”
Thailand has been so eager to launch the human rights commission that it has exercised great diplomatic finesse to get the ToR accepted in time for the AMM, with lots of compromising.
The Thai chairmanship has been plagued with a series of domestic political problems, resulting in several postponements of the 14th Summit and the failure of the Pattaya summit during the Songkran festival due to the intrusion of the Red Shirts of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Launching the regional human rights mechanism will certainly help in restoring the damaged image of Thailand in the eyes of Asean and the international community.
But it is not just Thailand that has to be blamed for the soft-faceted commission. The Philippines and Malaysia, beleaguered with their own problems, have also backed off from reflecting the high expectations of their civil society groups for the new body to have protection mechanisms and the Burma issue in general.
Indonesia was the only one to come up against the other nine members when it came to the human rights body’s negotiation and debate during the past year as experts met to draft the terms of reference.
Even the nice man, Hassan Wirajuda, the Indonesian foreign minister, was dismayed that he ended up being the loner in the “sea of change”.
“Indonesia has been solely embarking on the explicit deliberations of the new body on monitoring, country visits, and the UN-like peer review tasks,” said one of the senior delegates.
Mr Wirajuda yesterday toned down his country’s frustration, saying that he just wanted to make the protection deliberations clear.
Indonesia’s human rights body explictly mentions the protection mandate but the regional body had something less, said Mr Wirajuda.
The Thai host eventually took a face-saving step by ensuring that an elaboration on the protection element of the commission will be done in the Political Declaration by the Asean leaders.
The drafting of the Leaders’ Political Declaration will be finalised by the ToR-drafting High Level Panel in Manila next month.
In defending the accusation that the new commission had no teeth, Mr Kasit said that instead of criticism, the regional grouping should be thanked for having come this far.
“We have to move the two fronts [promotion and protection] in unison. The different political systems within Asean will be improved and developed later in due time.”
The same tone was adopted by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
“It is better to make headway with the launch first, bearing in mind that the body must be credible, realistic and evolutionary.”
Mr Abhisit expects the evolution to be clearly defined in the ToR framework. “We establish a body that begins with the issue of promotion first. The teeth will come along later.”
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who probably understands the issue best, conceded that there was a feeling in Asean, particularly in Indonesia, that the grouping was not moving fast enough.
“Indonesia has the right to be euphoric and proud about its own achievement [on democracy], so they put their own frustration into a positive energy to direct Asean in the right direction,” said Mr Surin.
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), said the human rights commission was purely a body for the governments and by the governments – not the peoples of the region.
“It is absurd when Asean said they don’t want the name-and-shame by outsiders. With this toothless commission, how will the regional grouping prevent itself from being criticised?” Ms Stothard asked.
Only a strong human rights mechanism could prevent external criticism about the human rights regime in our region, she said.
“Now the civil society, which has been eyeing the new body to do something, has to make complaints right away to the UN, not the regional entity,” she said.
She also said the rebranding of Asean as a united force was meaningless. “They said they are going for a rules-based body but still there is no common standard and the way they handle regional concerns such as the Burma issue has been depending on the host – it’s like this every year.”
Asean remains a long way from transforming from a consensus-based body into a problem-solving organisation, Ms Stothard concluded.
Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch’s executive director for its Asia Division, also called on Thailand, as the Asean chair, and Burma’s major political and economic partner with significant leverage and policy options, to help improve the respect for human rights and promote political reform in Burma.
Although he admitted there should be no wishful thinking that conciliatory talks from Thailand or other countries will cause Burma’s generals to soften their stance, Thailand still needed a bolder approach in dealing with Burma, to show that engagement can produce concrete results, not empty promises, Mr Adams said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/
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EDITORIAL Asean takes a step back
Bangkok Post
Published: 22/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
The outcome of the Phuket meeting of Asean foreign ministers was disappointing. It must be hoped that when they are joined by other colleagues for bigger gatherings that they can get off ground zero. Allowing the region’s harsher regimes to set the terms of a human rights council for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is likely to come back to haunt the group, and sooner rather than later. To recover from this setback, Thailand will have to press hard at meetings beginning today, or face stronger criticism for its term as Asean chairman.
By far the biggest letdown, verging on outright failure, was the cave-in by Thailand and other countries on the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights. It is not fair to call this new body a toothless tiger – not yet, before it even gets a chance to act. But the terms under which the body will operate appear to make actual human rights progress a dream rather than an achievable goal. Come October, it is widely feared, the commission will begin issuing vague statements and wishful press releases, rather than strong rulings backed by action.
Kudos to Indonesia for being the last nation standing when the roll was called for a stronger commission. It was shocking to see Thailand among the first democratic countries to give up attempts to push for the stronger version of the human rights body. When Thailand turned its back on human rights advocates, so did Malaysia, and then the Philippines. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda considered holding out and actually scuttling the almost meaningless agreement that emerged. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, chairman of the meeting, said the result was a compromise, leaving observers wondering how anyone can compromise on such an important moral issue.
Now it is the turn of the Asean Regional Forum, a 27-nation group which meets under Asean, but discusses matters extending far beyond our region. The group includes the foreign ministers and equivalent from the United States, China, Russia, Japan and other important countries. The ARF has been focusing strongly on the threat to peace by North Korea. Pyongyang, which was brought into ARF through Thai diplomacy in 2000, has once again gone into insult mode, and will send only a relatively junior diplomat to represent the foreign minister.
Thailand is again the chairman, and it must not shy from responding to this careful North Korean show of attitude. ARF was formed specifically to encourage openness in foreign affairs, including trade and military matters, because honesty and information-sharing openly promotes and keeps the peace. North Korea, if it has made any change during the past nine years, has become even more closed and secretive. Its nuclear weapons tests and unannounced missile firings are designed to be hostile and intimidating. Since this flies in the face of the ARF goals, and defies the real successes of the ARF in achieving regional peace, North Korea must be called to account; no compromising this time.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, the chairman of all Asean meetings this week, has already stated that the group cannot move off dead centre until there are changes in Burma. Now is the time to press ahead with that thought, with 25 other mostly sympathetic nations helping. At the southwest and northeast corners of our region, Burma and North Korea are the main blocks to progress, the worst human rights violators. They are major blocks to peace. Asean can recover some dignity by standing up to these two nations at the important meetings in Phuket.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/
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Clinton condemns Myanmar’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi (Roundup)
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 21, 2009, 13:37 GMT
Bangkok – US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday condemned the Myanmar junta’s imprisonment of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the eve of attending Asia’s main security meeting and raised worries about Pyongyang-Myanmar military ties.
‘We have made it clear that we expect fair treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi, and we have condemned the way she has been treated by the regime in Burma,’ Clinton told a press conference before attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phuket this week.
The meeting is being watched for signs of change in US policy towards the region’s two trouble spots – Myanmar and North Korea.
‘Our position is we are moving towards a more productive partnership with Burma if they take certain steps.’
The steps included political reforms, ‘ending violence against their own people including the ethnic minorities’ and better treatment of political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
She raised concerns about possible military ties between Pyongyang and Myanmar, although such ties have not been substantiated.
‘It would be destabilizing to the region. It would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbours,’ Clinton said.
The US secretary of state was in Bangkok for a quick stopover to meet with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to discuss bilateral relations before flying on to Phuket Island to attend the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
The ARF, Asia’s main annual security event, is likely to focus on the North Korean issue and Myanmar’s political instability when foreign ministers from the grouping’s 27 members meet Thursday.
North Korea is the only country that has refused to send a foreign minister to the forum, but will be represented by five lower-level officials.
Clinton said she would not meet separately with the North Korean delegation. North Korea has refused to resume the Six-Party Talks that are the key forum for negotiations on Pyongyang’s nuclear armaments.
Clinton is to fly on to Phuket Island, 600 kilometres south of Bangkok, on Wednesday when she was tentatively scheduled to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in South-East Asia, a loose agreement on the terms of engagement in the region.
The previous US administration of US President George W. Bush refused to sign the TAC.
President Barack Obama has indicated a change in the US approach in Asia, attaching more importance to multilateral groupings such as ASEAN rather than pursuing Bush’s bilateral diplomacy.
‘We are pleased with the US foreign policy which clearly attaches more importance to this region as a whole,’ Thai premier Abhisit said on Monday. ‘I think this accession to the TAC is a reflection of that.’
Clinton will then attend the ARF on Thursday. The forum gathers foreign ministers from the 10 member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their main Asian and non-Asian allies such as the United States, the European Union and Russia.
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Editorial/World
Suu Kyi is a ray of hope for Myanmar
Gulf News
Published: July 21, 2009, 22:45
It is a continuing outrage that the Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had to endure 20 years of detention.
The pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate was honoured on Tuesday with the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation by the South Africa-based Mahatma Gandhi Foundation to mark this shocking anniversary.
Suu Kyi stood up for democracy and human rights against the Myanmar dictatorship for most of her life. She returned to Myanmar in 1988 and launched the National League for Democracy, which won the general elections in 1990.
This result was over-turned by the junta of generals who have run Myanmar since independence, who refused to hand over power, and also announced a new and indefinite period of house arrest for Suu Kyi.
With her commitment to non-violent opposition to the military thugs who run her unhappy country, she continues to make the point that she is only one person although she has become a symbol for the many thousands who are in Myanmar jails, and millions who have been denied their normal human rights by the military junta.
The world will be a better place when the junta leave office and Suu Kyi takes her place as the elected prime minister of Myanmar. http://www.gulfnews.com/
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