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ASEAN: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICT
Subject: ASEAN: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
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Subject: ASEAN Burma (Cambodia) team seen making some progress
WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A REUTER STORY!! IT IS A REUTER STORY WITH
CAMBODIA REPLACED BY BURMA, PHNOM PENH BY RANGOON, UNG HUOT BY OHN GYAW,
HUN SEN BY SLORC. ANY CHANGES OF ACTUAL TEXT HAVE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
TEXT IN PARENTHESIS. THE ARTICLE IS PROVIDED IN FULL AT THE END.
CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY ASEAN LEADERS SAY ALL THESE THINGS ABOUT CAMBODIA,
BUT NOT ABOUT BURMA? The inconsistency seems so obvious that it ought to
be very difficult for ASEAN to maintain.
RANGOON, Aug 1 (Reuter) - An ASEAN delegation makes a
return trip to Rangoon on Saturday for a second attempt to
solve Burma's troubles two weeks after strongman SLORC
bluntly rejected an offer.
But diplomats and political analysts said on Friday they
were cautiously optimistic that this time talks between the
three Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign
ministers and SLORC could produce some progress.
Burma was scheduled to join ASEAN in late July, but the
grouping postponed its membership indefinitely in response to
SLORC's bloody overthrow of election results.
(bloody overthrow of his senior coalition partner,
Prince Norodom Ranariddh).
``They have been welcomed back so I think a more prudent
expectation is there should be some positive development,'' one
diplomat from the region said.
``I understand there have been assurances of some forward
movement but what it might be we don't know. They're keeping it
close to their chest,'' he said of the Burmese side.
``I am hopeful,'' said another Asian diplomat. ``They
realise that their destiny is with us, it is in their interests
to be in ASEAN.''
The ASEAN team will comprise the same men who flew to Rangoon and
tried unsuccessfully to launch a mediation effort two
weeks ago -- foreign ministers Ali Alatas of Indonesia, Prachuab
Chaiyasan of Thailand and Domingo Siazon of the Philippines.
Alatas said on Friday the ASEAN team would offer ideas to
SLORC on ways to resolve the political crisis.
``The three ASEAN foreign ministers will convey ideas on how
we can contribute to a settlement of the Burma crisis,''
Alatas told reporters in Jakarta.
He declined to give details of the proposals to be made.
``It is difficult to say at this stage. We want to see how
to restore political stability in Burma,'' Alatas said.
SLORC came to power in a bloody 1988 coup in reaction to massive
popular demonstrations calling for an end to military rule. In 1990
elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD) swept 82% of the
parliamentary seats. The SLORC is under rising international pressure
over its repression of democracy, violations of basic human rights and
narcotics exports. It has refused to hold a dialogue with NLD leaders and
leaders of ethnic minority groups.
(Second Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his co-premier,
Ranariddh, on July 6 after two days of battles in Phnom Penh and
bluntly rejected all attempts to mediate in the crisis.)
( He refused a mediation offer from King Norodom Sihanouk and
later dismissed all foreign intervention in his country
including an offer to help from the three ASEAN foreign
ministers. )
A political analyst said he expected the ASEAN team to
receive a more diplomatic response from SLORC on Saturday.
``SLORC may not necessarily soften its position but I think
they'll conduct themselves in more of an ASEAN way,'' the local
analyst said. ``ASEAN is about negotiation, compromise and
consensus. It's very important for the two sides to begin some
sort of negotiation.''
Burmese Foreign Minster Ohn Gyaw said on Friday his
government would discuss peace and stability with the ASEAN
mission but suggested the grouping should not interfere in
Burma's internal affairs.
``Anything that is not interference in our internal problems
we can accept,'' Ohn Gyaw told reporters.
But diplomats in Rangoon said Ohn Gyaw's remarks could be
posturing ahead of the talks on Saturday and not a rejection of
any role for ASEAN.
``I think there will be some forward movement but there's
major jockeying for position going on to see who can come out of
this without losing face,'' said a Western envoy.
Burma's troubles dominated a recent ASEAN foreign
ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
The grouping was thrown into confusion by conflicting
signals from Burma over whether or not the SLORC-controlled
government would welcome a mediation effort.
Ohn Gyaw said Burma wanted ASEAN to mediate while other SLORC
leaders have timed crackdowns and military attacks on minorities to
embarrass ASEAN.
(Ung Huot said Cambodia wanted ASEAN to mediate while Hun Sen
said ASEAN's role should be limited to preventing outside
interference in Cambodia.)
But after ASEAN requested clarification on the issue, Ohn
Gyaw wrote to the group on behalf of SLORC, inviting the trio
of foreign ministers back to Rangoon for talks.
ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
-=-=-
PHNOM PENH, Aug 1 (Reuter) - An ASEAN delegation makes a
return trip to Phnom Penh on Saturday for a second attempt to
solve Cambodia's troubles two weeks after strongman Hun Sen
bluntly rejected an offer.
But diplomats and political analysts said on Friday they
were cautiously optimistic that this time talks between the
three Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign
ministers and Hun Sen could produce some progress.
Cambodia was scheduled to join ASEAN in late July, but the
grouping postponed its membership indefinitely in response to
Hun Sen's bloody overthrow of his senior coalition partner,
Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
``They have been welcomed back so I think a more prudent
expectation is there should be some positive development,'' one
diplomat from the region said.
``I understand there have been assurances of some forward
movement but what it might be we don't know. They're keeping it
close to their chest,'' he said of the Cambodian side.
``I am hopeful,'' said another Asian diplomat. ``They
realise that their destiny is with us, it is in their interests
to be in ASEAN.''
The ASEAN team will comprise the same men who flew to Phnom
Penh and tried unsuccessfully to launch a mediation effort two
weeks ago -- foreign ministers Ali Alatas of Indonesia, Prachuab
Chaiyasan of Thailand and Domingo Siazon of the Philippines.
Alatas said on Friday the ASEAN team would offer ideas to
Hun Sen on ways to resolve the political crisis.
``The three ASEAN foreign ministers will convey ideas on how
we can contribute to a settlement of the Cambodia crisis,''
Alatas told reporters in Jakarta.
He declined to give details of the proposals to be made.
``It is difficult to say at this stage. We want to see how
to restore political stability in Cambodia,'' Alatas said.
Second Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his co-premier,
Ranariddh, on July 6 after two days of battles in Phnom Penh and
bluntly rejected all attempts to mediate in the crisis.
He refused a mediation offer from King Norodom Sihanouk and
later dismissed all foreign intervention in his country
including an offer to help from the three ASEAN foreign
ministers.
A political analyst said he expected the ASEAN team to
receive a more diplomatic response from Hun Sen on Saturday.
``He may not necessarily soften his position but I think
he'll conduct himself in more of an ASEAN way,'' the local
analyst said. ``ASEAN is about negotiation, compromise and
consensus. It's very important for the two sides to begin some
sort of negotiation.''
Cambodian Foreign Minster Ung Huot said on Friday his
government would discuss peace and stability with the ASEAN
mission but suggested the grouping should not interfere in
Cambodia's internal affairs.
``Anything that is not interference in our internal problems
we can accept,'' Ung Huot told reporters.
But diplomats in Phnom Penh said Ung Huot's remarks could be
posturing ahead of the talks on Saturday and not a rejection of
any role for ASEAN.
``I think there will be some forward movement but there's
major jockeying for position going on to see who can come out of
this without losing face,'' said a Western envoy.
Cambodia's troubles dominated a recent ASEAN foreign
ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
The grouping was thrown into confusion by conflicting
signals from Cambodia over whether or not the Hun Sen-controlled
government would welcome a mediation effort.
Ung Huot said Cambodia wanted ASEAN to mediate while Hun Sen
said ASEAN's role should be limited to preventing outside
interference in Cambodia.
But after ASEAN requested clarification on the issue, Ung
Huot wrote to the group on behalf of Hun Sen, inviting the trio
of foreign ministers back to Phnom Penh for talks.
ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
-=-=-