ASEAN should send a high-level delegation to Myanmar to ascertain the actual death toll from the bloody military crackdown of the monks-led peaceful protests as it is not only Myanmar but all ASEAN member nations which are directly affected by the savage suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar.
The Myanmese military junta has officially admitted to 10 dead three days ago which has no credibility whatsoever.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the loss of life in Burma is far greater than is being reported while the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer claimed that the death toll is “substantially higher” than the official Myanmese figure and could be in multiples of ten higher, i.e. over 100 dead.
Dissident groups estimate close to 200 people have been killed by government forces.
Malaysia and all the other ASEAN nations cannot be impervious to the actual death toll in the carnage in Burma in the past four days.
As the Myanmar military junta had promised to usher in national reconciliation and democratization on its admission into ASEAN ten years ago in 1997, ASEAN and its member nations must be concerned about the actual death toll in Burma as equally at stake are the international reputation, credibility and even legitimacy of ASEAN and its member nations.
As Myanmar had been admitted into ASEAN in the teeth of regional and international opposition, ASEAN member nations cannot sit by the sidelines to wait for the outcome of the visit to Myanmar by the United Nations special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari but must undertake its own initiatives.
The least ASEAN can do is to send a high-level delegation to ascertain the actual death toll from the bloody military crackdown of the monks-led peaceful protests, seek release of all detained monks and protestors (including Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners) and broker a peaceful dialogue with all stakeholders in Burma.
If the Myanmar military junta is not prepared to entertain the visit of a ASEAN high-level delegation, then ASEAN must send a clear and unequivocal message that Myanmar is not welcome to the ASEAN gatherings, including the 13th ASEAN Summit scheduled for Singapore next month.
(Media Conference Statement in Tawau on Sunday, 30th September 2007)
“If the Myanmar military junta is not prepared to entertain the visit of a ASEAN high-level delegation, then ASEAN must send a clear and unequivocal message that Myanmar is not welcome to the ASEAN gatherings, including the 13th ASEAN Summit scheduled for Singapore next month.” KIT
A policy of dis-engagement?? How does that help to stabilise the religion?
ooop region.
ooooooooooooooooooops! what’s wrong with me today?
Govts of ASEAN face a dilemma that if Myanmar military crackdown is to be condemned, then the monks-led peaceful protests (that the crackdown was supposed to stop) were OK – an expression of democratic will of the people – and if such street marches were OK in Yangon, then to be consistent, they would be equally acceptable in the streets of other capitals of ASEAN nations – but are they really OK by ASEAN govt’s authoritarian standards and past record?
Singapore govt would never allow street protest (not counting Singapore’s warm economic ties with Myanmar). Suharto was forced to step down by violent reformasi protests in 1998 starting with university students. In the Philippines, street protests succeeded to bring down Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada. In the streets of Bangkok Thaksin Shinawatra was forced out of power also by streets protests.
After being thrown out of power all these leaders were subject to accounting – prosecution for alleged past corrupt practices and abuse of power.
So tell me, would ASEAN leaders safely ensconced in power be proactive to condemn Myanmar junta, send a high-level delegation to contradict its version of the actual death toll, suspend or expel Myanmar from ASEAN when if confronted by the same peaceful street protests, ASEAN govts would have done no better than the Burmese generals?
Remember how riot police shadowed the reformasi street protest led by Anwar Ibrahim which was nipped by having Anwar arrested or how riot police beat up anti fuel hike protestors gathered in Suria KLCC one Sunday morning on 28th May 2006?
The Malaysian government itself has rejected the opposition’s call for an independent inquiry into the recent bloody weekend clash in the north-eastern state of Terengganu in which 7 people were injured, including two who were hit by live bullets in a Parti Keadilan Rakyat ceramah.
The standard defence by the authorities articulated by Nazri is “Police are also normal human beings. They’ve been attacked by a group of people they have every right to defend themselves, you can’t wait till you’re injured.”
Street protests have life of their own, one thing can lead to another and there is no guarantee that all protesters are “peacefulâ€Â, it just take some to start a brawl, then when the police beat and kill them the matter gets escalated leading to outrage and wider protests that might bring down the government (as the experience in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand testify eventually leading to their leaders being made to account and prosecuted by the next government). [Monks are not necessarily peaceful – In Cambodia ½ a year ago at least two Buddhist monks were injured in a street clash in Cambodia’s capital between two opposing groups of monks during a protest against Vietnam, which some monks accuse of suppressing religious freedom. The monks from one side threw objects etc and injured monks of the other side].
Our government would be thinking if its ok for cinnamon-robed monks to protest in the streets of Yangon, oooooops, does it not suggest next that it is also ok for black robed ulamaks and their supporters to protest in the streets of Kuala Lumpur???? :)
The 10-nation ASEAN can best be compared to the Central American banana republics of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador etc where ‘democracy’ is just for show because vote-rigging is standard procedure during elections.
ASEAN had signed a non interference treaty. So the members are persona non grata as far as cases such as that happen in Burma now. Their own governments are not themselves clear in their conscient.
ASEAN members avoid to be seen to be overly enthusiastic against such demonstration by the people against the oppression and cruelty by the junta or even by the so-called “elected” government.
ASEAN has a long way to go to achieve the status of the free and civil society.
Was asking a friend about his view on the the whole Mynmar issue & he had the nerve to say the US had paid the Mynmars to demonstrate against the current government….and just to think that there are Malaysians who has this kind of mentality
Son-in-law was an unknown businessman but he has risen to become one of the most powerful men. Hmm, sounds very very familiar. Reminds me of—
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2567469.ece
His daughter Ma Shwe Aye and her husband Teza, a tycoon who used his regime connections to rise from obscurity to become the richest man in the country, reportedly flew to Dubai…Ten years ago Mr Teza was an unknown businessman but he has risen to become one of the most powerful men in Burma, thanks to his close connections with the regime.
Reminds me also the familiar moral of the story, even for men, when choosing wives, just don’t base everything on love – that Plato described as ‘thea’ mania or divine mania – whether she has a good pedigree and who is her father makes the critical difference….. :)
Demonstration by monks remind me of the days when they would dowse themselves with kerosene on the streets of Saigon and burned themselves to death. This is long before the emergence of the suicide bombers. We owe it to the monks!