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ASEAN faced with recalcitrant member

Myanmar citizens chant slogans and demand the release of of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

The ASEAN's failure to rein in troublesome member Myanmar, which has defied world opinion with its latest crackdown on the opposition, will be one of the tough issues facing its foreign ministers when they meet in Cambodia next week.

ASEAN's policy of non-intervention in members' affairs, held sacrosanct despite criticism that it emasculates the grouping, is likely to come up for review.

UN envoy Razali Ismail, who on Tuesday ended a five-day mission to Myanmar to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been held incommunicado since May 30, boldly criticized the bloc for its inaction.

"This is something that I have noticed for some time, the inability of the region to be able to deal with issues that are important to the region, and this is one of them," the former Malaysian diplomat said in a BBC radio interview.

"It really undermines the credibility of ASEAN by insisting upon non-interference and in the process of doing that perpetuating the status quo when clearly the people of Myanmar want change."

Razali, close to regional strongman Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, made it clear the task of ending four decades of military rule in Myanmar rests on the shoulders of its neighbors, who span the political spectrum from youthful democracies to communist regimes.

"I've also realized now that this job is not something I can do alone. I have to get the support of the international community and I must particularly have the support of the countries of the region."

While some ASEAN members are happy to pursue the softly-softly approach that has so far failed to yield any reforms in Myanmar, others have indicated they have lost patience with the generals and their antics.

Thailand, which has extremely delicate ties with its neighbor, has repeatedly called for the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi, while the Philippine government summoned Myanmar's envoy in Manila to grill him on the events.

However, these relatively modest responses are unlikely to impress US Secretary of State Colin Powell who will be attending the Phnom Penh meeting, after his office described Aung San Suu Kyi's detention as "outrageous," "shameful" and "unacceptable."

US President George W. Bush made a rare personal statement of protest over the junta's move, which came after violent clashes in northern Myanmar where US embassy officials said the opposition leader's convoy was attacked by a pro-junta mob.

Apart from repeatedly and stridently calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD), the US has expanded its visa blacklist and threatened to heap more sanctions on Myanmar.

But because of its policy of non-interference, ASEAN is unlikely even to issue a statement on the recent developments in Myanmar at the conclusion of the Phnom Penh meet which begins Monday.

Debbie Stothard of regional pressure group Altsean-Burma said ASEAN nations should consider it "extremely shameful" that the Myanmar junta continues to thumb its nose at the international community, bringing the entire region into disrepute.

"ASEAN should consider this as an embarrassment," the spokeswoman said.
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