Asian rights body urges BIMSTEC to reject Myanmar as chair

New Delhi, Nov.13 : The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today condemned the decision of the 11th summit of the Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to appoint Myanmar as the Chairman of the 12th Ministerial Summit and BIMSTEC from 2009.

BIMSTEC consisting of India, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar is holding its 11th Summit today in New Delhi.

"The appointment of Myanmar as the Chair from 2009 is the most shameful event of the BIMSTEC. This provides legitimacy to the military Junta which has refused to take measures for national reconciliation, release Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and restore democracy in Myanmar" - stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centreor Human Rights.

"The decision also undermines the efforts of the ASEAN which has rejected Myanmar as its chair for the failure of the Junta to promote national reconciliation and rejects the recent appeal of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon to the government of India to play a greater role on Myanmar," Chakma further stated.

Instead of following the footsteps of ASEAN, BIMSTEC is promoting the worst military dictatorship in the world, the State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar against the current wave of democracy in South Asia as evident from the election of Mauhamed Nausheed as the President of Maldives, Prachanda as Prime Minister of Nepal and ouster of General Pervez Musharaff as the President of Pakistan.

The ACHR urged ASEAN, European Union and others in the international community not to send any observers, including the Ambassadors to Myanmar to the BIMSTEC Summit to be chaired by Myanmar in 2009.

ANI