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NEWS - Burden of Myanmar Pariah Wei



Subject: NEWS - Burden of Myanmar Pariah Weighs on ASEAN

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Burden of Myanmar Pariah Weighs on ASEAN

           Reuters
           15-FEB-99

           BANGKOK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast
           Asian Nations has come to rue admitting military-ruled
           Myanmar as a member 18 months ago. 

           The 30-year-old regional bloc now finds the behaviour of
           one of its youngest members jeopardising its relationship
           with, and much needed financial assistance from, its oldest
           dialogue partner, the European Union. 

           Signs are that a key ministerial meeting between the two
           blocs scheduled for late next month will have to be
           postponed since Europe considers Myanmar's human rights
           record so bad it will not accept senior Yangon officials
within
           its borders. 

           Talks between the two blocs to resolve the stalemate have
           not budged either from their respective collective positions. 

           The nine-member ASEAN insists all of its foreign ministers
           must be allowed to attend the Berlin meeting or none at all. 

           But the signs of frustration and strain are showing. 

           "There are some people who now ask whether it was a good
           idea to accept Myanmar," said an ASEAN diplomat in
           Bangkok. "But now it's a fait accompli, it's done, and we
have
           to live with it. But we have our limits too and sometimes we
           feel very fed up with this situation." 

           The economic crisis that has swept Asia since the last
           foreign ministers meeting two years ago means ASEAN
           needs all the help it can get. 

           But Europe, economically resurgent and under pressure
           from strong human rights lobbies, is in no mood to let
           Myanmar off the hook. 

           It says easing its visa ban on senior Myanmar officials
           requires Yangon to show "substantial progress" on human
           rights. 

           The issue has already put paid to a more junior-level
           meeting, of the EU-ASEAN Joint Cooperation Committee,
           that was supposed to take place in Bangkok last month. 

           EU and ASEAN diplomats consider the ministerial meetings,
           which are supposed to be held every two years, key to the

           development of bloc-to-bloc political ties. 

           But there is also a financial equation. The lack of dialogue
           means disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars of EU
           development funding will be indefinitely delayed. 

           Thailand and Germany have been tasked with negotiating a
           way around the dispute, but neither is optimistic. 

           "Germany has said it will be difficult to convince its EU
           colleagues unless there is progress on human rights," said a
           Thai Foreign Ministry official. "We are not very optimistic." 

           While Germany, as the current holder of the revolving EU
           presidency, would like to find a compromise, it has to
           represent all EU members, not least Britain and the Nordic
           countries, which have taken a particularly tough line on
           Myanmar. 

           "We wouldn't rule out a compromise, But we have made very
           clear our position," said a German diplomat in Bangkok. 

           "The guilding line in the relationship cannot only be
           economic. It has to be human rights as well," he said. 

           "The ball is now definitely on the Burmese (Myanmar) side
           and if ASEAN can't convince them, they have to bear the
           consequences. And the consequences are the meeting not
           taking place." 

           Myanmar has shown little indication that it plans to alter
           radically its attitude to dissent in the weeks ahead. 

           Last week, it said it had freed "on humanitarian grounds" a
           dissident writer it jailed for 20 years in 1993 for
distributing
           anti-government leaflets. 

           But diplomats in Yangon say they consider as credible
           reports from pro-democracy groups that some 270 activists
           were sentenced last month to jail terms ranging from seven
           to 52 years. 

           Human rights activists say the number of political prisoners
           held in Myanmar could number up to 2,000. 

           On Monday, Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung left on a
           four-nation ASEAN tour that will take in Brunei, Indonesia,
           Singapore and Thailand. An ASEAN diplomat said the EU
           dispute would top the agenda during his tour. 

           The Thai Foreign Ministry official said ASEAN was obliged to
           ensure all its members were treated equally. 

           "We understand the EU position because we subscribe to
           that way of thinking too, but we have to say we are not very
           happy when it links its relationship with ASEAN to
           developments in a single country," he said. 

           Nevertheless, the ASEAN diplomat suggested a compromise
           might come in the time-honoured form of a "diplomatic
           illness." 

           "But it's up to Myanmar to decide whether it will assign
           somebody else for the meeting. We will not ask U Win Aung
           to stay away and we have no intention of raising it. But if
he

           decides that himself, then that's different."