BURMA: Pressure Rises on ASEAN, West to Work on Political Change

By Larry Jagan Reprint | | Print |

Analysis - By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK, Jun 20 2003 (IPS) - International outrage continues to mount over the continued detention of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with Rangoon’s neighbours in South-east Asia fidgeting at the political – and perhaps economic – price of the country’s intrasigence.

So far, Europe has stepped up sanctions on Burma and the United States is introducing tougher economic measures.

Even the countries of South-east Asia are getting annoyed with Burma’s military rulers. At their annual meetings in Phnom Penh this week, the foreign ministers of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) urged the Burmese government to release Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.

Most foreign ministers understood that Burma’s political problems were tarnishing the image of the organisation as a whole.

"Unfortunately, now that you are part of ASEAN, all the fraternal countries share your accountability before the world community," Philippine Foreign Minister Blas Ople told his Burmese counterpart Win Aung. "It is not fair that the image of ASEAN is being defined by the events transpiring in your country." Although the communiques at the end of the ASEAN sessions and the regional strategic meeting ASEAN Regional Forum were mild in their language, Win Aung was left in no doubt that most of his Asian colleagues were running out of patience with Rangoon.

"Most ASEAN countries understand that the latest events in Burma are a huge step backwards, which puts the national reconciliation process in danger of collapse," said a senior diplomat at the Phnom Penh meeting. "They also know that this would undoubtedly have implications for the future peace and prosperity of the region – not just Burma," he said.

News that Aung San Suu Kyi is actually being held in Burma’s notorious Insein prison on the outskirts of Rangoon will only increase calls for her immediate release.

According to diplomatic and opposition sources, she is being kept in a two-room hut within the prison complex. She is being denied access to reading and writing materials and her lawyer. "It is for all intents and purposes solitary confinement," said a diplomat in Rangoon.

Before returning to Rangoon, Burma’s Win Aung told reporters at the ASEAN meetings: "We don’t have any animosity against Aung San Suu Kyi. She will be released – when the situation in the country returns to normal.”

The U.N. envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, has renewed his appeal to Rangoon to clarify the conditions of Suu Kyi’s detention. "When I met with (her) on 10 June, she told me that she was being held under Section 10-A," Razali told IPS.

Under this law, the government can hold incommunicado a person suspected of subversive activities for at least 60 days, and up to a total of 180 days without charge. This can be extended to five years in all.

"Since my return from Myanmar, I have been studying closely the implications of detaining Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under Section 10-A," said Razali. "Her detention under 10-A would seem to be at variance with the government’s claim that Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in ‘protective custody’.”

”The government should clarify the situation immediately by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi – who, in the view of the U.N., does not pose a threat to Myanmar’s stability and security, but rather can contribute significantly to it," he added.

Legal experts in Burma say there is no such thing as protective custody under Burmese law. The military regime instead has placed her in the equivalent of preventive detention under the State Protection Law, reserved for people deemed to be threats to peace and security. But even under these regulations, prisoners have the right to legal counsel.

International experts also say this law is in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Burma has signed. At the same however, several countries in the region have similar regulations known as internal security acts. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained under this act when she was placed under house arrest for the first time in 1989 for nearly six years.

The Red Cross has been given permission to see the political prisoners detained after the events of the May 30 attack against Suu Kyi and her supporters, which led her being put under ‘protective custody’. But it continues to be denied access to Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It seems likely that the pro-democracy leader is likely to remain in solitary confinement for the minimum period of two months," said a senior Rangoon-based western diplomat. "The fear is that she may even be kept there for the full five years without a trial.”

For ASEAN, the confrontation with the west – the United States in particular – may be over. Secretary of State Colin Powell has left and is embroiled in other matters in the Middle East. But South-east Asia will still have to cope with the problems that Burma’s military leaders’ intransigence is bringing down on the region.

Both the United States and the EU are threatening even stronger measures against Burma’s military rulers if they do not release Suu Kyi soon and start substantive talks with her and her party – the National League for Democracy.

South-east Asian governments fear that Europe may start considering a tourist ban as well, something they do not need in the aftermath of the Iraq war, SARS and the suspicion of potential terrorist attacks in the region

"ASEAN – Thailand in particular – is worried about the possibility of a tourist ban on Burma, either bilaterally or collectively, as this is likely to severely affect their own industries as well," said a senior Asian diplomat who did not want to be identified.

So although Asia’s leaders can breathe more easily now that the ASEAN meetings are over, they know that there will be increased pressure on them to take concrete action on Burma.

While the West may be preoccupied with sanctions, the international community also needs to consider strengthening the U.N. envoy’s role role in Burma’s reconciliation process.

"It’s now really time to consider changing Ambassador Razali’s remit and making him effectively a mediator, so that he can try to force the two sides to sit down together at the same table and start talking about the country’s political future," said a European diplomat in Bangkok who is also responsible for Burma.

Many diplomats – Asian and European – say that this does not mean the United States and Europe should reduce international pressure. But, they say, the countries of Asia and the west need to cooperate more closely to bring about change in Burma.