Beth Duff Brown writes: Southeast Asian Leaders Adopt Charter



Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday but their vision to create an EU-style bloc faced hurdles because of concerns over Myanmar, whose military rulers have defied international calls to restore democracy. The pact will collapse if one country fails to ratify it. The Philippines has warned that its Congress would be hard-pressed to do so unless Myanmar upholds the charter's principles of democracy and human rights and releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. On Monday, the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations abruptly withdrew an invitation to U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to address Asian leaders after Myanmar objected. They further rejected calls to suspend Myanmar from the bloc to punish the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left 15 people dead in September, and its refusal to free Suu Kyi. ``ASEAN leaders will strive to prevent the Myanmar issue from obstructing our efforts to deepen integration and build an ASEAN community,'' Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his opening remarks at the annual summit. Journalist Beth Duff-Brown served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Congo Kinshasa.

Beth Duff Brown writes: Southeast Asian Leaders Adopt Charter

Southeast Asian Leaders Adopt Charter

Tuesday November 20, 2007 1:31 PM

By BETH DUFF-BROWN

Associated Press Writer

SINGAPORE (AP) - Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday but their vision to create an EU-style bloc faced hurdles because of concerns over Myanmar, whose military rulers have defied international calls to restore democracy.

The pact will collapse if one country fails to ratify it. The Philippines has warned that its Congress would be hard-pressed to do so unless Myanmar upholds the charter's principles of democracy and human rights and releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Monday, the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations abruptly withdrew an invitation to U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to address Asian leaders after Myanmar objected.

They further rejected calls to suspend Myanmar from the bloc to punish the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left 15 people dead in September, and its refusal to free Suu Kyi.

``ASEAN leaders will strive to prevent the Myanmar issue from obstructing our efforts to deepen integration and build an ASEAN community,'' Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his opening remarks at the annual summit.

Still, ASEAN leaders urged Myanmar's junta to open a ``meaningful dialogue'' with Suu Kyi, release her from house arrest, free all political detainees and work toward a ``peaceful transition to democracy.''

ASEAN's Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong insisted the body was not kowtowing to Myanmar, also known as Burma, by shelving Gambari's scheduled address on Wednesday.

``We don't want to come across as being too confrontational in a situation like this,'' Ong told reporters.

Gambari arrived at the summit venue - a luxury hotel in downtown Singapore - and launched into private meetings with officials from Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

However, China - which has the most influence over the isolated Southeast Asian nation and is its largest trading partner - won't hold a special meeting with Gambari, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Qin said the purpose of China's attendance at the ASEAN meeting was to improve cooperation with Southeast Asian nations. He said China and ASEAN want to help Myanmar settle its disputes, but that outside pressure only hurt.

Qin also insisted that there has been positive developments in Myanmar, but he declined to elaborate.

Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told his Myanmar counterpart Tuesday ``it is urgent for Myanmar to promote dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and opposition parties and promote the democratic process in Myanmar,'' said Japanese Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Mitsuo Sakaba.

Komura urged Myanmar to support Gambari's work in the country and repeated a request for a full investigation into the case of a Japanese photojournalist who was killed in Myanmar during the September demonstrations. Komura also sought the return of his camera gear.

The ASEAN charter sets out a common set of rules for negotiations in trade, investment, environment and other fields. It aims to turn Southeast Asia into a single market and production base with a free flow of goods, services, investment and capital.

One of the most significant pledges in the charter is to set up a regional human rights body. Critics note, however, that it will have limited impact given that it will not be able to punish governments that violate the human rights of their citizens.

Negotiators have watered it down by dropping earlier recommendations to consider sanctions, including possible expulsion, in cases of serious breaches of the covenant by member nations.

Bodyguards for Myanmar's foreign minister, Nyan Win, pushed away reporters trying to get him to comment on the debate.

``I have no comment on that question,'' Nyan Win said when asked about why the junta would not release Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.

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Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Eileen Ng and Vijay Joshi in Singapore contributed to this report.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2007; RPCV Beth Duff-Brown (Congo Kinsasha); Figures; Peace Corps Congo Kinshasa; Directory of Congo Kinshasa RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Congo Kinshasa RPCVs; Journalism

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