Activists urge ASEAN to review Burm

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Subject: Activists urge ASEAN to review Burma's admission 



 Activists urge ASEAN to review Burma's admission 
 01:12 a.m. Jul 13, 1997 Eastern 

 KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Reuter) - A chorus of activist and
 opposition groups at the weekend called on ASEAN to reconsider
 Burma's membership after foreign ministers from the grouping
 delayed Cambodia's admission because of political violence. 

 ``If ASEAN is willing to recognise the elected representatives of
 Cambodia, it should do the same for Burma,'' said the
 Bangkok-based ``Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma'' in a
 statement. 

 Foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations
 on Thursday decided to delay Cambodia's admission after
 Cambodian Second Prime Minister Hun Sen's bloody power grab a
 week ago, citing the use of force there as the reason. 

 But they said ASEAN would admit Burma and Laos as scheduled
 at the organisation's annual meeting at the end of this month in Kuala
 Lumpur. ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
 Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

 ``In many ways, the situation in Burma parallels Cambodia,'' the
 Alternative ASEAN statement said. ``War continues to rage in parts
 of the country. A total of more than 200,000 refugees are gathered
 on its borders with Thailand, Bangladesh and India. Forced
 relocations and forced labour is rampant.'' 

 Referring to the refusal of Burma's military rulers to accept the
 results of the 1991 election won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National
 League for Democracy, the group said: ``If ASEAN is willing to
 recognise the elected representatives of Cambodia, logically it should
 do the same for Burma.'' 

 The Burma Solidarity Group Malaysia accused ASEAN of double
 standards. 

 ``The foreign ministers' decision has exposed finally and firmly that
 ASEAN's so-called commitment to the principle of non-interference
 in the internal affairs of another state is an utter myth,'' the group said
 in a weekend statement. 

 ``When it is not convenient, as in the case of Burma under the
 military junta...ASEAN does nothing to embarrass or jeopardise the
 illegal and illegitimate regime there.'' 

 Last month Burma's ruling generals rebuffed a suggestion from
 Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi, this year's ASEAN
 chairman, to start talks with Suu Kyi. 

 ``This is a direct slap in the collective face of ASEAN; it is a
 reminder that ASEAN's so-called policy of constructive engagement
 is nothing but a fig leaf which has failed miserably to conceal the
 illegalities and indecencies of the ...junta.'' 

 The group said it has repeatedly warned that ASEAN's tolerance of
 Burma's military rulers would encourage coups in other parts of
 Southeast Asia. ``Events of the past few days in Cambodia have
 validated our dire warning.'' 

 Malaysian human rights group Suaram said the events in Cambodia
 showed the limits of ASEAN's policy of constructive engagement,
 which says Burma's rulers can best be reformed if the country is
 within the grouping. 

 ``If ASEAN had failed to convince Cambodia's political forces to
 co-exist peacefully, how would 'constructive engagement' with
 Burma work?'' 

 Suaram said ASEAN has never before insisted on democracy or
 non-violence as membership criteria, pointing to Indonesia's military
 intervention in East Timor, the violent military rule in Burma, the
 Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, and various coup attempts in
 Thailand. 

 ``This suggests ASEAN has double standards when dealing with
 issues in the region,'' Suaram said. 

 Meanwhile, Malaysia's parliamentary opposition leader, Lim Kit
 Siang, applauded ASEAN's deferment of Cambodia's membership
 in a statement on Saturday. 

 But its inconsistency in going ahead with Burma's membership
 ``would undo the gains in international prestige and credibility won by
 ASEAN on the Cambodian question,'' the statement said. REUTER