The time has come for Malaysia to stop being one of the leading defenders of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and foremost advocate for Myanmar’s admission as full ASEAN member by next year.
Last Saturday, after the opening of the 25th Gerakan national delegates conference, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahthir Mohamad reiterated that Malaysia would continue to push for Myanmar’s entry into ASEAN despite the recent crackdowns on pro-democracy activists by the Myanmese military junta.
Asked to comment on the United States’ action in barring Myanmar government officials from landing on US soil and its call to stop foreign investment in Myanmar, Mahathir said it was pointless to shut out Myanmar as it was a country that could remain for years without contact with the outside world.
He said: “We have continued to knock on Myanmar’s door and today they are more open and have expressed interest in improving the living conditions of the people there.”
The issue at question is not whether Malaysia and the ASEAN countries should isolate Myanmar from the international mainstream and ostracise SLORC, but whether Malaysia and ASEAN should reward SLORC for its continued crackdowns on pro-democracy activists and obstinate refusal to undertake any political reforms or democratisation.
It cannot escape the notice of SLORC that despite its crackdowns against pro-democracy activists in May and the total lack of progress in political reforms and democratisation, Myanmar was admitted as an observer at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta two months later in July, with the promise of full membership by 1997.
The ASEAN message to SLORC seems to be clear and unequivocal: that the ASEAN governments are totally oblivious to the politicial repressions and lack of progress in political reforms and democratisation in Myanmar provided the ASEAN countries can take part in the exploitation of the natural resources and economic opportunities in Myanmar!
This is the backdrop against which SLORC had launched a new series of pro-democracy crackdowns, confident in the belief that regardless of its political repressions against its own people, its admission to ASEAN as a full member next year has been fully assured!
While ASEAN cannot ask Myanmar to become a full democracy before admitting it as an ASEAN member, ASEAN cannot be oblivious to the political repressions and the series of pro-democracy crackdowns since May this year.
If ASEAN rushes ahead to admit Myanmar as a full member of ASEAN next year, regardless of the series of pro-democracy crackdowns by SLORC since May this year, it would be a great diplomatic breakthrough for Myanmar but a major setback for the international reputation and credibility of ASEAN, which will be known as a regional grouping which has no proper regard and respect for democracy and human rights.
Yesterday, the Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas denied in Kuala Lumpur that there was a split in ASEAN over Myanmar’s application for full membership.
He said: “The only hurdle we face from ASEAN countries is on the timing whether they could join in 1997 or later which depends on how fast Myanmar can meet the procedures (for membership)”.
As Myanmar is in South-East Asia, no one would object that it should be a member of ASEAN, but in deciding on its full admission, ASEAN governments cannot disregard the continuing political repressions in Myanmar or the aspirations of ASEAN people to see political reforms and democratisation in Myanmar.
For this reason, Malaysia should stop being one of the leading defenders of SLORC and foremost advocate for Myanmar’s admission as full ASEAN member by next year until SLORC has shown progress in political reforms and democratisation in the next 12 months.
There should be an ASEAN-wide campaign to support the proposal by the Philippines President, Fidel Ramos for a review of Myanmar’s application for full membership and demand that Myanmar’s application should be deferred until SLORC had shown progress in political reforms and democratisation in the next 12 months. This would mean that the earliest Myanmar’s application for full membership in ASEAN can be considered would be in 1998.
(8/10/96)