Myanmar says ASEAN rights body should be consultative

MANILA, Aug 2 (Reuters) Myanmar has promised to respect and promote human rights but will only agree to set up a consultative rights body in Southeast Asia, Yangon's ambassador to Manila said today.

''It should not be a body to shame and blame, but it should really be a body that would work together to promote human rights,'' Thaung Tun told reporters in Manila.

''We're not against human rights per se. We would like to see a consultative body. I don't know what the others want.'' The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) overcame objections from Myanmar and other members earlier this week in agreeing to set up a regional human rights body, which is an integral part of a landmark charter the group is putting together.

Some diplomats have called for a rights commission which can investigate charges of abuse in member countries.

Although they hailed it as a historic move, the ASEAN foreign ministers said they have only agreed that a provision allowing a human rights body to be created should be inserted into the first draft of a proposed constitution for the bloc.

No details on the scope or a start date were agreed.

The final draft would be shown in September to the foreign ministers before they attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, diplomats said.

Thaung said Myanmar went along with the consensus among ASEAN foreign ministers, but wanted the nature and shape of the body to be fleshed out.

He said Yangon wanted the rights body to evolve step by step because some members of ASEAN, including Myanmar, were not ready for it.

''The message should be clear that Myanmar is not against human rights. What Myanmar wants to do is to have a provision mechanism that really helps promote human rights,'' he added.

Myanmar came in for severe criticism at the ASEAN meeting, with many members saying they were losing patience with the military-ruled nation and its dismal human rights record.

ASEAN also issued a joint communique calling on Myanmar to restore democracy and release political detainees, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

An estimated 1,100 political prisoners are believed to be behind bars in the former Burma. Suu Kyi, 62, has now been confined for more than 11 of the past 17 years. Her latest detention began in 2003.

REUTERS PD RN1546