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The Straits Times 07/28/97: Myanmar
- Subject: The Straits Times 07/28/97: Myanmar
- From: Winston_Lee@xxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 16:51:00
Subject: The Straits Times 07/28/97: Myanmar under fire behind closed doors
Winston Lee@SHI
07/28/97 02:11 PM
By Brendan
in Kuala Lumpur
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) delegates endorsed the regional
grouping's constructive engagement policy with Myanmar but not
before several of them slammed the regime in Yangon behind
closed doors for the slow pace of reforms there.
United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright noted
yesterday that though Myanmar had been admitted to the
grouping, it was an anomaly within Asean.
It was the only member state singled out by the United Nations
general assembly for refusing to honour election results and
where the government protects and profits from the drug trade,
she said.
"Burma is inside Asean, but it will remain outside the south-east
Asian mainstream and isolated from the global economy until
accountable government is restored," she warned.
Equally hard-hitting was Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer, who noted that there had been very little progress in
constitutional reform in Myanmar.
It was also stressed that the whole spectrum of political players
in
the country had to be involved in discussions on political reforms
-- an indirect reference to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The representatives from the European Union and several other
countries also used the closed door session to hit out at the
Yangon government, known officially as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (Slorc).
According to delegates, Myanmar Foreign Minister Uhn Gyaw,
stung by the criticism, stood up and defended his government's
policy, saying that a number of chapters on constitutional reforms
had been completed.
But it was not easy to move ahead with the reforms as there were
some problems over power-sharing caused by the many ethnic
groups, some still bearing arms, he said.
A senior official with the Myanmar delegation told reporters,
however, that the minister did not think it was appropriate for
him to have to defend his government at the ARF as it was a
forum where "international issues, and not the internal affairs of a
country, should be discussed".
But having heard so many people give what he considered to be
inaccurate accounts of the situation in the country, he decided to
speak and provide a clear picture.
Mrs Albright was obviously unimpressed. Not liking the tone or
content of his reply, she intervened, saying that she did not
believe his statement reflected the situation in Myanmar and
charged that some of his observations were "fictitious".
Mr Downer told reporters later that he "did not buy" the
explanation.
Later, chairing a press conference in his capacity as chairman of
the ARF, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi acknowledged that "all of us have different views
on Myanmar".
But he noted that there was a recognition among members of
Asean's constructive engagement policy with the state.
Asked if Asean was going to initiate a dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi
and other political leaders, he replied:
"I don't think we have difficulty in carrying out some measures
which can influence changes in a positive way in Myanmar."
As for whether he believed what the Myanmar minister said
about political reforms in his country, he said: "Well, it is
factually correct to say that reforms are taking place. It is also
factually correct to say that the progress is slow."
Responding to another question, he told reporters that there was
a need for the ARF to be more entrenched before a summit
among leaders of member countries could be considered seriously.
Datuk Abdullah said the idea of a summit was brought up by
Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jayakumar during the
closed-door session.
But the general feeling around the table was that the aims of the
forum had to be met first. After this was achieved more fully,
serious consideration could be given to having a summit.