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Reuters-ASEAN-EU meeting cancelled (r)



Subject: Reuters-ASEAN-EU meeting cancelled - Malaysia 

ASEAN-EU meeting cancelled - Malaysia
10:23 a.m. Mar 16, 1999 Eastern
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Tuesday a proposed
meeting this month between ASEAN and the European Union had been cancelled
following a dispute over Myanmar's participation.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the cancellation of the March 30
meeting in Berlin was agreed by all nine ASEAN members, the national Bernama
news agency said.

``If they (the EU) don't want to give any facilities to any ASEAN country to
attend the meeting, we will definitely not attend the meeting,'' Bernama
quoted Syed Hamid as telling reporters.

``This is our common stand and in that case there will not be any meeting of
foreign ministers between ASEAN and EU,'' he said.

EU sanctions against Myanmar, which joined the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1997, ban high-level meetings with its officials
because of the EU's disapproval of that country's human rights record.

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

The Philippines said on Sunday Thailand was still taking with the EU about
the format of the proposed meeting between the two blocs, indicating that it
had not been definitely banned.