ASEAN to state position on Myanmar at July meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16: Southeast Asian foreign ministers are expected to come up with a ''position'' on military-ruled Myanmar when they meet in Kuala Lumpur later this month, Malaysian state news agency Bernama today reported.

Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), was quoted as saying that the ''position'' would reflect the grouping's concern over how the issue of its junta-ruled member had affected ASEAN's credibility and image in the eyes of the international community.

''Whether it will help the situation in Myanmar, we do not know, but definitely the interest of the ASEAN foreign ministers is to make sure that the issue of Myanmar will not continue to undermine the standing of ASEAN,'' Ong told Bernama.

Malaysia, ASEAN's current chairman, will host the July 24-28 ministerial meeting.

Ong said tackling issues such as Myanmar would not be easy as there were ''hard positions on both sides of the table''.

''So we'll try to manage this difficult situation and see how it goes,'' he said.

ASEAN, a 10-nation group which emphasises consensus and non-interference in members' internal affairs, has shown rare public displeasure in recent years with foot-dragging on reforms in Myanmar, ruled by the military for more than 40 years.

But other member states have still failed to do anything more substantive against Myanmar than express their views at such forums as a ministerial meeting in Indonesia last April.

''We know that we should not interfere in another member country's internal affairs but, at the same time, the Myanmar issue no longer has an internal dimension. This issue affects ASEAN's credibility and image,'' Ong said.

He said that although the grouping was also preoccupied with many other issues, it could not run away from discussing Myanmar.

''I think I will let the ministers decide how to go about it. We can't run away ... we expect the ministers from ASEAN as well as from non-ASEAN countries to talk about all these international issues and there must be some statement of one kind or another,'' he added.

Myanmar has proposed a seven-step ''roadmap to democracy'' and the junta says step one, drafting a new constitution, is under way. Its ASEAN neighbours think the process is taking too long while the West views the plan as more of a delaying tactic than a serious attempt at reform.

REUTERS