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ASEAN tells junta to release Suu Kyi

Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered in the Cambodian capital made an unprecedented call yesterday for the early release of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN ministers "looked forward to the early lifting of restrictions placed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD [National League for Democracy] members" arrested following violence in the country's north last month, a joint statement released after two days of annual talks here said.

The stand represents a substantial departure from the 10-member ASEAN's long-standing policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under what the junta has termed "protective custody" in a military camp outside Yangon since May 30 clashes between her supporters and a junta-backed mob.

Her arrest has prompted a chorus of outrage among world leaders, most vocally from US President George W. Bush.

Both the US and Europe have introduced tougher sanctions against the military-ruled nation since the Nobel peace laureate's detention, while Japan will reportedly warn Myanmar that it might suspend economic aid over the issue this week during talks here.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is due to arrive here for regional security talks to be held today, has warned he will press ASEAN to take a tougher stance on the nation.

The ministers also called for communist Myanmar to resume its efforts to shift the country toward democracy.

"We urged Myanmar to resume its efforts of national reconciliation and dialogue among all parties concerned leading to a peaceful transition to democracy," it said.

"We also reaffirmed out continued support for the efforts of the UNSG [United Nations Secretary General's] special representative Tan Razali Ismail," it said.

The junta and Aung San Suu Kyi have been engaged in talks -- which Razali is credited with brokering -- since October 2000, but they have not progressed beyond an initial confidence-building phase.

"It's a good step forward," Singaporean Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar told reporters, commenting on the statement.

Earlier Jayakumar had said ASEAN ministers pressed home the point to Myanmar's foreign minister Win Aung that the recent developments were "a setback not just for Myanmar but also a setback for ASEAN."

The statement is much tougher than a draft released on Monday, which had only "expressed appreciation for the information provided by Myanmar on the latest developments in the country."

The organization's foreign ministers also agreed in principle to send a high-level delegation to Myanmar in a bid to help the national reconciliation process.

"In principal we are going to send a high-level mission from ASEAN. It is a proposal but everybody was supportive," Filipino foreign minister Blas Ople told reporters, adding that it would likely take place at the ministerial level.

No timeframe was given for the mission, proposed by the Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda, which has yet to be approved by Myanmar's government, he said.

The purpose of the mission would be "to determine how ASEAN can help Myanmar speed up its constitutional reforms, which is the key to its future political and economic stability."

ASEAN secretariat spokesman M.C. Abad told reporters that Myanmar's foreign minister Win Aung would take the proposal back to the country's leaders.

Ople said such a delegation would be expected to meet with both Suu Kyi and the ruling generals, but would not interfere with efforts by Razali Ismail.
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