press release: ASEAN and human rig

[altsean@xxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: press release:  ASEAN and human rights


For immediate release: July 22, 1999

ASEAN REMINDED: GROW UP, GET REAL, AND LEARN TO DEAL WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Singapore, Thu: Representatives from Southeast Asian NGOs today gathered in 
Singapore to remind Asean Foreign Ministers that the regional organisation 
needed to ?Grow up, get real, and learn to deal with human rights.?

Speaking at a press conference chaired by Mr JB Jeyaretnam (Open Singapore 
Centre) in Singapore this afternoon, the activists asserted that Asean had 
failed to consider the economic, social and security costs of human rights 
violations. They insisted that positive developments in human rights and 
democratisation in the region have taken place in spite of Asean, not 
because of it.

Mr Ahmady (Alliance of Independent Journalists Indonesia) said the crisis in 
Aceh had not eased despite Suharto?s resignation. ?There still are rapes, 
disappearances, killings and other forms of violations and intimidation 
inflicted by the military. So far 150,000 people have fled from their homes 
from the military.?

Ms Debbie Stothard (Altsean-Burma) said that the human rights situation in 
Burma had deteriorated since Asean accepted Burma as a member in July 1997. 
?Asean has used ?non-interference? to justify its failure to resolve human 
rights crises in the region. This approach is unrealistic because human 
rights violations result in significant economic, security and social costs 
to the region. Burma?s massive outflows of refugees and migrant workers, and 
drug production are a threat to the region. Asean cannot afford to sit on 
its hands and do nothing. It should grapple with this problem, for its own 
credibility and self respect.?

Ms Alison Wee (Suara Rakyat Malaysia) pointed out that 800,000 people were 
being denied the right to vote in the upcoming Malaysian general elections. 
"The Election Commission has announced that it will take 8 months to upload 
details of new voters who registered in April, 3 months AFTER the election 
is expected. Ironically the Election Commission?s computers are ready to 
hold an election within days of notification. SUARAM insists that voting is 
a basic right of Malaysians, and this denial is unacceptable.?

Mr Wilson Lucente (Amnesty International Philippines) spoke out against the 
death penalty. ?In the Philippines capital punishment has not deterred 
heinous crimes. The judicial system has been prone to errors when imposing 

this penalty. In a recent review, the Supreme Court commuted 58 of 100 death 
penalties to life imprisonment or retrial. Without this intervention, 58 
people would have been wrongfully executed.?

Dr Chee Soon Juan (Open Singapore Centre) said that politics and economics 
were inseparable. ?Transparency and accountability have become catchwords of 
the Singaporean government since the economic crisis hit, yet Singaporeans 
are being kept in the dark about the imporatnt issues. ?For example, our 
President?s term expires on August 31 but we still don?t know the date of 
the presidential elections. Singapore has potentially lost more than a 
billion dollars in Soochow (China) yet we are not being informed exactly how 
much was lost and how it happened. Singapore is investing in Burma despite 
the fact the Burma is not at all transparent or accountable.?

Mr JB Jeyaretnam (Open Singapore Centre) lamented that Singapore had failed 
to keep up with the human rights standards of some Asean member states, 
where human rights commissions have either been or are being set up. ?I am 
disappointed as a Singaporean that no such initiative has been taken here. 
Indeed the region should also consider the establishment of an Asean Human 
Rights Court.?
ENDS
Enquiries: Open Singapore Centre, Tel: 65 358 0548



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A L T S E A N - B U R M A
Alternative Asean Network on Burma
Tel: 66 2 275 1811 * Fax: 66 2 693 4515
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