Albright Blasts ASEAN Over Burma

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

                         Albright Blasts ASEAN Over Burma

                         By Laura Myers 
                         Associated Press Writer 
                         Thursday, July 24, 1997; 7:19 a.m. EDT 

                         LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Not mincing words, Secretary of
                         State Madeleine Albright prepared to meet her
counterparts in
                         Southeast Asia by criticizing them for welcoming
Burma into
                         their political fold. 

                         She called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations'
                         acceptance of Burma membership on Wednesday ``another
                         brake to the region's progress.'' 

                         ``Burma may be inside ASEAN, but it will remain
outside the
                         Southeast Asian mainstream,'' Albright said before
heading to
                         Malaysia today to meet this weekend with foreign
ministers of
                         the economic and security club. 

                         ``By admitting Burma as a member, ASEAN assumes a
                         greater responsibility, for Burma's problems now become
                         ASEAN's problems,'' Albright said. 

                         The United States, which in April imposed a ban on
new U.S.
                         investment in Burma, had lobbied to keep Burma out of
                         ASEAN, citing its huge heroin trade and repressive
military
                         regime that ignored the results of 1990 elections. 

                         Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won the election, but
                         instead of assuming office, the Nobel Peace Prize
winner was
                         put under house arrest by the military regime. The
house arrest
                         has since been lifted. 

                         The 30-year-old ASEAN, originally devised as a
bulwark to
                         communist Indochina, invited Burma and Laos to join
members
                         Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore,
                         Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia was set to join this
year, but
                         ASEAN postponed its membership after Hun Sen ousted his
                         co-prime leader, Prince Ranariddh Norodom, on July 5. 

                         The United States is counting on ASEAN to help
reason with
                         Hun Sen to turn back the results of his coup.
Albright said her
                         No. 1 goal at a post-ASEAN meetings and conference with
                         foreign ministers in Malaysia Saturday through
Monday is
                         restoring a coalition government in Cambodia. 

                         The secretary of state also plans several side
meetings with her
                         diplomatic counterparts from China, Russia and Japan. 

                         Albright said she was pleased to hear Hun Sen would now
                         accept a mediator role by ASEAN -- something he had
                         rejected just days ago -- and she noted that
so-called outsider
                         nations had a right to protect the $3 billion Western
                         governments have spent to prod Cambodia toward
                         democracy. 

                         ``The United States will use its leverage and do
all we can in
                         partnership with others to see that Hun Sen's words are
                         translated into concrete actions,'' she said
Wednesday to the
                         Pacific Council and Los Angeles World Affairs
Council. ``The
                         international community was right to invest in peace in
                         Cambodia, and we are right to insist now that the
government
                         in Phnom Penh live up to its obligation to respect
democratic
                         principles.'' 

                         The United States has suspended economic aid to
Cambodia
                         -- $41.8 million -- for at least 30 days because of
the coup,
                         saying full funding won't be restored unless Hun
Sen adheres to
                         the 1991 Paris Peace accord that ended civil war in
                         Cambodia. That agreement led to the 1993 U.N.-sponsored
                         elections that put the royal party in power,
although Hun Sen
                         was given a co-leader role. 

                         So far, ASEAN and the United States have refused to
accept
                         anyone but Ranariddh as Hun Sen's co-premier,
although the
                         coup leader picked a member of the royal party, Foreign
                         Minister Ung Huot, to replace his foe. 

                         In Kuala Lumpur, Ung Huot met Wednesday with former New
                         York congressman Stephen Solarz, President
Clinton's envoy
                         on the crisis. Solarz declined to disclose details,
but said Ung
                         Huot ``may be in a somewhat delicate situation
himself. I think
                         we all know who's calling the shots in Phnom Penh.'' 

                         Solarz is to report his progress to Albright on
Saturday. She's
                         also meeting with three ASEAN envoys who have met with
                         both sides too. 

                         U.S. officials remain skeptical about Hun Sen,
whose forces
                         have been accused of executing at least 40
followers of the
                         prince after the coup. 

                         Nonetheless, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns
                         said the United States might accept a replacement for
                         Ranariddh if one is democratically chosen by the
Cambodia
                         National Assembly, set to vote on Sunday.