Sanctions seen behind junta's talks with Suu Kyi
source : Asiatimes/(Inter Press Service)
BANGKOK - Leading states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are surely breathing easier following the announcement by a United Nations special envoy that Myanmar's military rulers are finally ready to hold talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmese pro-democracy activists have often accused Asean and Western governments of providing legitimacy to Myanmar's military rulers by not discouraging business deals. However, the junta may finally be feeling the pressure of international economic sanctions. Pro-democracy activists here believe that this was a key factor in making the military regime realize the need for a dialogue with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
The military regime, known as the State Peace and Development Council, has been under intense pressure from the international community to start a political dialogue as a first step to restore democracy in the country. The junta is also under heavy international criticism for alleged human rights excesses. These include charges of arbitrary arrests, torture, forced relocation of civilians and forced labor. The regime is also accused of turning a blind eye to the large-scale drug trafficking out of the country, which has led to the loudest protests from neighboring Thailand.
The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, disclosed Tuesday after a five-day mission to Yangon that Suu Kyi and the military regime held talks late in December. According to unnamed Western diplomats quoted by newspapers Wednesday, the Myanmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate has started preliminary consultations with the military regime. ''They are discussing the subjects they will develop,'' one diplomat was quoted as saying by one of Thailand's main English dailies, The Nation.
Pro-democracy activists here say that the first contact between Suu Kyi and the military rulers in the past seven years was to reach an agreement on the nature of the forthcoming dialogue. ''It is hoped that this will bring an end to the long-term political deadlock. We see it as a positive step forward in the political transformation of the country,'' said the All Myanmar Students' Democratic Front (ABDSF).
Despite its landslide win in the 1990 parliament election in Myanmar, the NLD has been kept out of office by the military rulers who have routinely cracked down on its leader. Suu Kyi herself has been restricted to her home since September 22 last year, after trying twice to defy the military regime by travelling outside the capital. Two senior NLD leaders are in jail.
The pro-democracy activists praise Razali's role. Malaysia's permanent envoy to the United Nations, Razali has visited Myanmar three times since his appointment as special envoy in April last year. His visit to Yangon closely followed that of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysia is said to be one of the few countries which the Myanmese government is willing to listen to. Malaysia has traditionally glossed over Myanmar's human rights record and defended that nation in the face of international criticism and demands for more openness there.
In a media interview, Myanmar's Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win said: ''Because Mr Razali is from Asia I believe he has a better understanding of the issues involved.''
Kuala Lumpur played a key role in getting Myanmar admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 1997 in the face of protests from the Western world and reservations by other Asean members. Myanmar's membership of Asean has since clouded the regional grouping's ties with the West and often put Asean capitals in delicate diplomatic situations.
Countries like Thailand have been vocal in advising greater political openness in Myanmar and speaking out for human rights in that country. However, critics have accused key Asean nations of shoring up the military regime in Yangon by encouraging business investments in that country.
Malaysian firms have invested US$587 million in 25 projects in Myanmar in the last 12 years. Malaysia is the fourth largest foreign investor in Myanmar after Singapore, Britain and Thailand.
Thailand's state oil company, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), and Malaysian state oil firm Petronas are reported to be planning setting up a natural gas processing plant in southern Myanmar. Petronas is also a partner in the $650 million Yetagun gas field development in a consortium that includes British, Thai and Japanese oil firms.
The pro-democracy activists have hailed the announcement as an ''historic breakthrough''. ''This is a truly historic breakthrough after 12 years of struggle. We're very optimistic. This is the most positive sign we've seen since the general election held in 1990,'' the ABDSF said in a press note on Wednesday.