2ND LD: Asia, Europe seek Suu Kyi's immediate release

0 Comments | Asian Political News, July 28, 2003

BALI, Indonesia, July 24 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Foreign ministers from 10 Asian and 15 European countries reached a consensus Thursday on crucial issues affecting both regions at the end of their one-day meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, including urging Myanmar's military junta to immediately release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and several members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) have been detained since May 30 following what Myanmar's ruling generals claimed were violent clashes between NLD supporters and pro-junta demonstrators in northern Myanmar.

In the chairman's statement issued at the end of the fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of foreign ministers, the ministers ''recalled the assurance given by Myanmar that the measures taken following the incident were temporary.''

They also called on Myanmar ''to immediately release'' Suu Kyi and her followers and ''ensure them freedom of political activities'' -- a gentler admonition than the Europeans' initial call for ''condemnation.''

Europe had been seeking strong censure of Myanmar over the detention of democracy movement leader Suu Kyi, but some Asian countries wanted a softer approach.

''They have a similar objective but differences in nuances...The European countries wanted more pressure on Myanmar by imposing sanctions, while Asian countries wanted an engagement approach,'' Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told Kyodo News.

''However, each side has its own strength and we could not force a similarity...Therefore, we should be in the middle,'' he added.

The ministers, according to the statement, also called upon Myanmar to resume its efforts toward national reconciliation and democracy and reaffirmed their support for the efforts of the U.N. secretary general's special envoy Razali Ismail in seeking a solution to the issue.

Suu Kyi's detention also played a large part in a meeting of ASEM senior officials preparing for the ministerial talks, where the differences in opinions became clear.

European countries want to link Suu Kyi's release to allowing the ASEM membership to grow next year by admitting Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, an idea so far resisted by the Asian side.

''The obstacle is the political development in Myanmar...The European side has a view that a country like Myanmar, which has violated human rights and arrested Suu Kyi, should not be admitted into ASEM next year together with Laos and Cambodia,'' Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told reporters.

''Unfortunately, Myanmar was not represented here in the meeting so we could not listen to their responses on these two different views,'' he added.

Myanmar, which is not an ASEM member, was invited to attend an informal dinner of ministers Wednesday evening, but declined, citing ''domestic engagements.''

A special envoy from the junta will, however, visit Indonesia on Monday and Thailand next Thursday to try to explain its policies on Suu Kyi.

On North Korea, the ministers urged the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a peaceful resolution of its nuclear issue ''through dialogue and negotiations would contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond.''

The ministers also pressured North Korea to reverse its decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global nuclear arms control treaty, resume its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and give up any nuclear weapon program expeditiously and in a verifiable manner.

China has brokered preliminary talks between North Korea and the United States, but Washington seeks multilateral talks involving the two Koreas, itself, China and Japan.

North Korea, however, says it will speak only to the U.S.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing expressed hope for the involvement of more countries, but said, ''The key is not in the hands of China, but in the hands of Pyongyang and Washington.''

''Patient and flexible dialogue is the best and the only right option,'' he said.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula escalated last October when North Korea reportedly told U.S. officials in Pyongyang that it has a program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

The ASEM ministerial meeting also discussed postwar Iraq, terrorism, severe acute respiratory syndrome and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

A declaration on the WMD was issued at the end of the meeting, separate from the chairman's statement, emphasizing ''the importance of continuing efforts on disarmament and prevention of proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.''

According to the chairman's statement, the ministers agreed to convene the sixth ASEM foreign ministerial meeting in Dublin on April 19-21 next year and to convene a meeting of senior officials in Vietnam to prepare for the ASEM Summit in Hanoi on Oct. 8-9 next year.

ASEM consists of 10 Asian countries -- Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam -- and 15 EU member countries plus the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU.