The application by the Myanmese military junta, State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), to join ASEAN is expected to be one of the main issues at the ASEAN Informal Summit in Jakarta tomorrow, especially as the Chairman of SLORC, Gen Tan Swee, has been invited to the Jakarta meeting.
The ASEAN Informal Summit in Jakarta should take serious note of the resolution by the UN General Assembly’s social, humanitarian and cultural committee on Wednesday deploring the continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar.
The UN General Assembly committee passed a resolution by consensus rebuking SLORC for suppressing opposition, using forced labour to build its economy, torturing prisoners, abusing women and conducting summary executions.
This resolution would be transmitted to the UN General Assembly for formal adoption next month, and by past practice, the General Assembly invariably reflects the stand taken by the committee.
SLORC’s Minister for Planning, David Abel has described statements about human rights abuses in Burma as “rash”, and claimed that SLORC had promised the people of Burma “a democratic government.... we have a national convention which is working towards that goal”.
Informal ASEAN Summit should advise SLORC to engage in substantive political dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other political and ethnic leaders for national reconciliation and democratic reforms
However, the National Convention is no longer a legitimate process since the National League for Democracy (NLD) which won the 1990 general elections in Burma has suspended its participation in the National Convention.
As the continuation of the present National Convention is a direct violation of the principle established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “the will of the people shall be the basis of authority of government”, the ASEAN Informal Summit should urge SLORC to engage, at the earliest possible date, in a substantive political dialogue with the NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy activists, including representatives of ethnic groups, to bring about national reconciliation and democratic reform.
ASEAN’s “constructive engagement” policy must be one where the ASEAN leaders can give constructive views to SLORC as to how it could return to the mainstream of the international community, and not to give a blank-cheque to the Myamese military junta to disregard ASEAN and international opinion by continuing with its violations of human rights against its people in return for opening up economic opportunities for other ASEAN countries to exploit in Burma.
(29/11/96)