Philippines says Myanmar's Suu Kyi not on ASEAN agenda

MANILA, May 23 (Reuters) Southeast Asian diplomats will not discuss the continued detention of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in preparatory meetings for a regional summit in July, a senior Filipino official said today.

''We're not taking up Myanmar,'' Erlinda Basilio, foreign affairs undersecretary for policy, told reporters.

Officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were meeting in Manila this week to decide on the agenda for a meeting of their foreign ministers in the Philippine capital in late July.

The Philippines, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, will also host a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's largest security forum, in August.

Affirming the bloc's policy on non-interference on internal problems, Basilio said the human rights situation in Myanmar and Suu Kyi's case were never discussed in preparatory meeting.

She said ASEAN officials would also not raise the issue during meetings on Friday with 17 security partners, including some of Myanmar's harshest critics, such as the United States, and the European Union.

Yesterday, Christopher Hill, US Assistant Secretary of State, renewed calls for the release of the Nobel Peace laureate after meetings with Thai officials in Bangkok.

His appeals came a day after similar appeals were made by Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, who also asked for the release of more than 1,000 political prisoners across Burma.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 11 of the past 17 years.

Her latest four-year detention was due to expire on May 27, but, the generals running the poor Southeast Asian state were expected to extend the term for another year.

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