ASEAN ministers say Myanmar democracy roadmap must be credible

By S. Ramesh/ Margaret Perry

SINGAPORE: Discussion among ASEAN foreign ministers during the first of their two-day retreat in Singapore, focused on developments in Myanmar.

The ASEAN ministers welcomed Myanmar's current roadmap that includes a new constitution in May 2008 and general elections in 2010.

But the ministers added that there's a need to ensure that these outcomes remain credible. This is according to Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, who briefed the media on Tuesday night, after the ASEAN ministers ended a three-hour working dinner.

Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, said: "We responded positively but I must say there remained considerable scepticism about the details of the implementation.

"A number of ministers talked about the importance of the integrity of the process and it must have international credibility. It can't just be an internal arrangement without independent verification.

"We made that point emphatically to Nyan Win while acknowledging the positive aspects and being quite open about our concerns and our scepticisms. The Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto 'Bert' Romulo, I think, was the most sceptical among us.

"As you know, they have taken a position, but on the whole it was a free-flowing exchange among the ministers on the basis of long acquaintance with the Myanmar Foreign Minister."

Mr Yeo also revealed that three ASEAN members will be submitting their documents to the ASEAN Secretary General on Wednesday as their countries had completed ratifying the ASEAN Charter. The three are Brunei, Malaysia and Laos.

The Philippines has indicated during the ASEAN Summit, which was held in November 2007 and more recently at the World Economic Forum, that it would ratify the Charter only if Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Syu Kyi is released.

Mr Yeo said: "Except for the Philippines, all the other countries should not be a problem. Cambodia told us two weeks before (that) they got theirs ratified and the others told us within a matter of months.

"As for the Philippines, the Foreign Secretary told us it requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, so its a bit more complicated. They have taken a certain position publicly, both at the summit and Davos.

"But I suggested to the Philippines that without ratifying the charter, we cannot hold countries to the standards expressed in the charter. So let us have the charter ratified and then afterwards to hold individual countries accountable to those standards they have signed on."

Singapore currently chairs the ASEAN Standing Committee.

Talks at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat will take place over the next two days at the Sentosa Resort.

Besides the Myanmar issue, the foreign ministers will discuss the progress of the implementation process of the economic blueprint. The document aims to lead the grouping towards an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

The 10 foreign ministers are also expected to exchange updates on how their governments are ratifying the ASEAN Charter. ASEAN leaders hope that the ratification process will be completed and the charter enforced in time for the next leaders' summit in Bangkok. -

Source: Channel NewsAsia