Rangoon Isolates Itself
International Herald Tribune
October 10, 2000
Kavi Chongkittavorn

The United Nations envoy for Burma, Razali Ismail, is visiting Rangoon this week to try to break the deadlock between the military government and the opposition National League for Democracy led by the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Association of South East Asian Nations should be helping, too, but it made a recent mediation attempt that has been stymied by objections from Burma, a member of the group.

Mr. Razali, a veteran Malaysian diplomat, is wearing two hats. As the UN envoy, his main responsibility is to gather information and hold talks with the regime and opposition leaders to prepare a report for Secretary-General Kofi Annan. But he also represents Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad, who helped Burma to join ASEAN in 1997.

The latest internal travel restrictions imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues have drawn international condemnation.

The European Union, a major trading partner and generous aid donor to the ASEAN countries, is considering whether to cancel a long delayed ministerial meeting with ASEAN scheduled to take place in Vientiane, Laos, in December.

ASEAN is becoming uneasy about Burma's internal crackdown and the way it is tarnishing the group's international standing. Thailand has urged Rangoon to support Mr. Annan's proposal that an ASEAN troika, consisting of three foreign ministers from the group, be sent to Burma for talks.

Japan and China, which both have considerable influence in Burma, should also back moves to persuade the Burmese junta to be more flexible.

Vietnam, the current ASEAN chairman, recently approached Rangoon to express the association's desire to send the troika in. Much to Hanoi's chagrin, Rangoon refused, saying the mission would be interference in its internal affairs.

The veto means that ASEAN has no formal channel for mediating. Without such a mechanism, it is hard for the group to be effectively engaged or bring in non-ASEAN players.

So Burma should not be surprised that it is now left to face increased pressure from the West and the United Nations to improve its behavior.

The writer, executive editor of the Bangkok newspaper The Nation, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.

[Not to be reproduced without the permission of the author.]

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune