The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed seems set in wanting to achieve the objective of “ASEAN 10” when Malaysia hosts the ASEAN Summit on its historic 30th anniversary next year by continuing to advocate for Myanmar’s admission into ASEAN.
In an interview with Singapore-based Asia Business News television, Mahathir referred to the issue of Myanmar’s admission into ASEAN and prodded the other ASEAN members to “think very carefully” and accept Myanmar as a member.
He said he believes in the “constructive engagement” policy adopted by ASEAN on Myanmar and said that “arm-twisting” will not succeed in democratising Yangon.
Mahathir said: “We think that if you cut them (Myanmar) from the rest of the world, they will not understand at all how a free market works, how democracy works. The best way to democratise any country is to expose them to democratise processes so that they will not fear democratic processes”.
The rejection of the application by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) for Myanmar’s entry into ASEAN should not be seen as an act to isolate Myanmar from the rest of the world or even as an abandonment of ASEAN’s “constructive engagement” policy - but as a clear message that ASEAN is not satisfied that its “constructive engagement” policy had succeeded in bringing about political and democratic reforms in Burma.
Malaysia should stop advocating for Myanmar’s entry into ASEAN until SLORC has shown distinct progress in political and democratic reforms.
But to now, SLORC has continued to be wilful and contemptuous of ASEAN and international opinion which want to see greater respect for human rights and dignity in Burma.
For instance, SLORC has refused to allow the visit of the UN special rapporteur on human rights on Burma and said it considers his appointment as “intrusive” and “unwarranted interference” in the internal affairs of Burma.
The UN Commission on Human Rights in April this year appointed Judge Rajsoomer Lahlah as its special rapporteur to investigate alleged human rights violations in Burma.
In his interim report to the current United Nations General Assembly, he said human rights abuses “remain extremely serious” in Burma and noted that the absence of respect for democratic rights is the root cause of all major human rights violations in Burma.
ASEAN’s admission of Myanmar will send a completely wrong message to SLORC as well as to the international community. To SLORC, the Myanmese military junta would be encouraged to continue and even escalate its repressive rule and suppression of human rights in Burma. To the international community, ASEAN would be seen as condoning SLORC’s gross violation of human rights and defiance of basic international norms of behaviour, including its refusal to allow the visit of the UN special rapporteur on human rights on Burma.
Malaysia must choose between being able to achieve the objective of ASEAN 10 during the Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Summit next year but also incurring the international odium of condoning gross violation of human rights in Myanmar, or forgoing the opportunity to achieve the ASEAN 10 objective in Kuala Lumpur next year but gaining international honour and appreciation for our efforts to send a clear signal to SLORC that it should begin to show distinct progress in political and democratic reforms for Myanmar to be fully accepted into the mainstream of the international community.
The choice is clear - that Malaysia must not besmirch our good international human rights record against apartheid South Africa and the gross violations of human rights in Nigeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Israel-occupied Palestine by suddenly becoming the champions of SLORC in its repressive suppression of human rights and democratic freedoms in Burma.
(20/11/96)