Singapore Newspaper(The Straits Tim

[Absdf102@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Singapore Newspaper(The Straits Times)

Anger over EU remarks on Asean ties with Myanmar
The Straits Times, July 18, 1996

Senior Asean oficials yesterday reacted angrily to remarks by a
vice-president of the European Commission that Asean-European ties would
suffer because of Asean's relationship  with the military regime in Myanmar.
According to a report from Brussel Mr Manuel Masrtin said Asean's moves to
accept Myanmar as a member could jeopardise the EU's plan to deepens its
relationship with the seven member groupings.
According to Agence France Presse, he said:"Asean is free to take in whomever
it wants. But it is clear for us that Burma would be a problem. Unless there
is profound change in the regime, it will inevitably create considerable
difficulties."
To this critism of Asean's policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar,
the secretary-general of Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil
Jaafar said:" We may have a different approach. Who are they to say it's
wrong? We think we may yet be able to win over Myanmar. Asean has never used
human rights as an instrument in its relations with Europe. The EU should not
use it with Asean."
He said Asean would not isolate Yangon and would instead try to make its
engagement policy work.
He accused the Western countries of hypocrisy, citing ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia and the sectarian violence in Northern Iraland as examples of huaman
rights violations which they did little to stop. Nor did he believe that the
Western call for economic sanctions against Myanmar would work. The
Phillippine Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Rodolfo Severino, said
that the question of who became Asean member was something for Asean
countries alone to decide.
Faced with an active human right lobby, some western countries feel compelled
to take a strong stand in protest against Myanmar's military regime for its
supression of the pro-democracy movement.
But EU itself is deeply divided over the question of economic sanctions
against Yangon, and Asean officials are confident that the Europeans would
not put pressure on Asean to drop its policy of constructive engagement.
Despite the EU's public posture, the Europeans acknowledged that Asean's
policy was correct because there was no better solution, said a senior Asean
official.
Myanmar's military regime has been villified for its human rights abuses and
refusal to hand over power to the National League for Democracy, after it won
a lanslide victory in the 1990 general election. An officials said Asean also
want to see change in Myanmar, and the question was how to achieve this
peacefully.
Myanmar imposed self-isolation on itself for nearly 30 years, and the
generals had now decided to open up the country, but change had to come about
gradually, he stressed.
Asean's move to upgrade Yangon to observer status and the support for its
entry into the Asean Regional Forum despite strong reservations from the
grouping's Western dialogue partners had led to the current debate on Myanmar
at this meetings. Ironically, Asean officials did not discuss this issue
yesterday when they finalised their reports for this weekend's ministerial
meeting.


Trans-Asean railway: Accord reached with Laos and Myanmar

Malysia reached a consensus with Laos and Myanmar on the trans-Asean railway
during their negotiations recently.
Malaysian Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Liong Sik, who visited the two
countries last week said he consulted the two governments on the route they
preferred. But he did not elaborate on this.
He told reporters yesterday that Malaysia's would soon convene a working
group meeting on the project and appoint a consulatant to collect facta and
figures on the volume of cargo and cross-border prodecures.
He added that the consulatant would have to look into the cost and viability
of the project and recommend procedures that  would allow easy movement of
good and people.
The trans-Asean rail project, which is to link Singapore in the south,
through Kuala Lumpur and Mekong basin countries, to Kuming (in south China)in
the north, was first mooted at the Asean Summit in Bangok last December.
Malaysia has been appointed by the Asean-Mekong countries to lead the working
group on the project.