ASEAN-EU meeting postponed over Mya

[tinkyi@xxxxxxx]

Subject: ASEAN-EU meeting postponed over Myanmar issue

ASEAN-EU meeting postponed over Myanmar issue
07:29 a.m. Jan 23, 1999 Eastern
SINGAPORE, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Saturday a meeting between
the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and the European Commission
(EC) had been postponed because of differences over Myanmar's participation.

The postponement was the second for the 13th ASEAN-EC Joint Cooperation
Committee Meeting, originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok in November
1997, a statement from the Singapore foreign ministry said.

European Union sanctions against ASEAN member Myanmar, imposed to show
disapproval of its human rights record, include bans on non-humanitarian
aid, arms sales and high level meetings between EU and Myanmar officials.

Singapore press reports said the planned talks between ASEAN and the EU's
executive Commission foundered over EU member countries' refusal to sit at
the same table with Myanmar officials.

``It is a pity that the 13th ASEAN-EC Joint Cooperation Meeting (JCC)
scheduled for 24-27 January...in Bangkok has been postponed over differences
between ASEAN and the EU on the modality of Mynamar's participation,'' the
Singapore foreign ministry said.

The Singapore statement said the city state considered the relationship
between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European
Union an important one and hoped the meeting would be held soon.

ASEAN member Myanmar is a frequent target of Western human rights groups,
with much of the fire concentrated on the military government's treatment of
opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN groups Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.