The virtual house arrest of Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi and the mass arrests of student activists in the past few days are proof that the Informal ASEAN Summit in Jarkata last weekend had again sent wrong signals to the Myanmese military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
The decision by the Informal ASEAN Summit in Jakarta that Myanmar would be admitted into ASEAN simultaneously with Cambodia and Laos, although without a time-frame, had been welcomed by SLORC spokesmen after the meeting as a clear indication that ASEAN would admit Myanmar next year, as Cambodia and Laos are expected to be admitted at the ASEAN 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur next year.
Instead of embarking on a serious programme of democratisation and national reconciliation, SLORC had resorted to even more undemocratic measures as in restricting the movements of Aung San Suu Kyi as to impose on her a virtual house arrest where she could not leave her house compound.
Amnesty International yesterday also reported that five members of the Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy’s youth wing had been detained after they left her house compound on Tuesday.
ASEAN leaders should convey their concern to SLORC about the latest developments, which had thrown the decision of the Informal ASEAN Summit to admit Myanmar into ASEAN simultaneously with Cambodia and Laos in a most unfavourable light.
In this connection, ASEAN leaders should give serious throught to the editorial in the Bangkok Nation on Tuesday, under the heading “ASEAN'S GOOD INTENTION GONE ASTRAY”, which said it is “unfortunate as Asean now is perceived as a grouping dictated by authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia.”
It said: “But Asean will have to pay a price for the inclusion of Burma. The Slorc-ruled Burma will undoubtedly be an embarrassment for the regional grouping with the ongoing human rights abuses there and the current pariah status the junta has within the international community.”
The editorial ended with this lament: “Sad to say, the direction Asean is now heading seems to be led by unregulated force. Goons with guns rule rather than the rule of law and respect for democracy.”
During the debate on the 1997 budgetary estimates for the Foreign Ministry next week, Malaysian MPs from all political parties should seriously review and consider whether the ASEAN constructive engagement policy towards SLORC had achieved any success as to justify the admission of Myanmar into ASEAN next year.
(5/12/96)