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Timely interference



Timely interference( South China Morning post),Hongkong.

Old habits die hard in countries where conservatism is
entrenched, but recent events promise to push the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean)toward a more interventionist approach to
members'domestic affairs.
 The past months have made the longheld non-interference 
tenet something of a non-starter. Delegates to the ministerial meeting in
the phillipines this week will find it hard to avoid that conclusion. No
matter what form of words they choose to disguise any policy shift,or how
forcefully older leaders like Malaysian  Prime minister  Mahathir Mohamad
resist, the organization cannot cleave to outdated procedures for  much
longer.
 With Burma newly in their ranks,and traffickers as active as ever in the
golden triangle between Thailand,Burma and Laos that aim may prove
unrealistic, but none of those goals can be achieved without harsh
criticism of member states, so the old facade of con-
sensus seems fated to crumble.Second Prime minister Hunsen lashed out at
Asean in January for admitting Burma, while preaching democracy and human
rights in
Cambodia.
 Few members are in a position to preach about either,
and life for the Burmese has not improved since it was welcomed to the
fold.In more practical matters, however,timely interference might have
helped to contain 
problems of economy,ecology and health which spread between countries until
the whole region was sick.
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