[The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (AIPMC) after a meeting in Bangkok on Monday night (25th May 2009) issued the following statement]
ASEAN MPs call on tougher ASEAN actions on Myanmar including Suspension
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) calls on ASEAN to suspend Myanmar’s membership in the regional bloc if the country’s military regime continues to detain its democracy leader, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s unjust current six-year house arrest is due to expire on 27 May 2009, but the regime has brought on further trumped-up charges against her and is likely to detain her for a further three to five years.
Several ASEAN member states have expressed deepening concern about the regime’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. However, ASEAN leaders have failed to take the measures necessary to compel the regime to end violations of human rights.
AIPMC parliamentarians strongly call on ASEAN to stop protecting Myanmar’s regime and instead remove them from the grouping until and unless Aung San Suu Kyi is free and genuine efforts to begin national reconciliation are underway.
The AIPMC further urges ASEAN member states to consider imposing targeted sanctions on the military regime generals, and its administration, should they still fail to respect the ASEAN Charter and continue to oppress its people.
Efforts by the international community to hold the regime accountable for its criminal acts, via targeted economic sanctions and UN Security Council actions, have been cushioned by ASEAN’s and China’s economic and political buffering of the regime.
The regime’s ruthlessness causes increasing numbers of internally displaced persons in Myanmar. It continues to use rape, torture and extrajudicial killings as state policies to suppress citizens. The military’s state projects, such as dams, further subject people to unabated suffering.
Change cannot be achieved in Myanmar if ASEAN’s current positions and policies remain. ASEAN must assume its responsibility by supporting, if not calling for, decisive measures such as an international commission of inquiry into the widely documented crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the regime. ASEAN cannot afford patience any longer.
#1 by monsterball on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 8:02 am
How many times I heard Myanmar has be sanctions with no effects..and totally forgotten for years.
If USA can force a legitimate government out and hang the leader in Iraq….why can’t they do same thing to free her?…years ago?
Now Chengho wants China to pick up the dead chicken?
#2 by ctc537 on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 9:42 am
It’s good AIPMC is acting tough on the military junta in Myanmar for its trial and continued detention of ASSK. The sad truth is that ASSK is aging, and she may not enough time to do much for her beloved Myanmar even if she is freed now. Remember, not every leader is blessed with good health like the late Deng Xiao Ping who at 72 could still lead China into his late 80s, and achieved much. What is equally important is ensuring ASSK’s good health. It’s feared that nothing much can come out from possible ASEAN actions, including suspenion from the regional grouping and targeted sanctions.
#3 by HJ Angus on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 9:48 am
The Myanmar regime is similar to the situation in Malaysia. The authorities are prepared to use force and illegal means to stay in power or to upset the results of a genuine election.
For Myanmar, the generals had too much to lose when Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the national polls and they decided not to let democracy flower.
After what happened in Perak and the court proceedings, Malaysia too is in danger of ending up in a similar state as vital state institutions have been compromised like the PDRM and the Judiciary.
In Burma we see raw military brutality – in Malaysia we can see the emerging of an ugly and all-powerful Executive. If Malaysians are not vigilant and prepared to defend their liberty, we too can end up like Myanmar.
Maybe that is why Malaysia has been unwilling to condemn their actions.
I have written in earlier blog articles that ASEAN was more of a golfing fraternity than a diplomatic force.
#4 by mauriyaII on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 11:23 am
Calling for actions and sanctions without a time frame is just pulling wool over the eyes of the international community. Asean MPs should demand that Aung San Suu Kyi be freed from house arrest and all charges against her are dropped within a stipulated time frame. Failing which Asean should not only impose economic sanctions and embargo of military items which are used against civilians but should also kick Myanmar out of Asean.
The continued membership of Myanmar in Asean does not justify its human rights atrocities and the blatant disregard for law and natural justice.
#5 by Loh on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 11:32 am
We now say Malaysia is second Myanmar. Pretty soon Myanmar would be calling itself second Malaysia.
In Malaysia, people are not even allowed to show unhappiness towards government actions. Malaysians are not allowed to fast, because that would call attention to the world of what they do. BN government believes that “paper can wrap up fire”. The only way to prevent people complaining is not to act in a way that would arouse complaints.
Politics deal with the life of the population and it is a more difficult profession than any others where institutions could provide technical training. Besides politicians should have the capacity to look after their own livelihood through honest living and to use the excess capacity to care for the others.
The number of active UMNO politicians would certainly do the country proud if they had the basic requirement to attain the status of political workers caring for their countrymen. Unfortunately, the reality was that they work through the political party to take care of their livelihood, and with excess capacity, they worked for wealth and perpetual power. When gaining wealth and power through political party is the accepted norm of party members, money politics became the normal routes and behaviour which could cause suicide of a South Korean President are respected as long as the person sits in the position of power. Those are the training and baptism UMNO politicians have gone through, and the reasons for their living is money, power and more money. Political party which behave like secret society cause more harm to the society when they had the use of modern government institutions to do their bidding to serve what akin to the boss of secret societies.
In the era of absolute monarchy, the emperors consider the country to be their property, and the people living on their property reflect their ability to maintain their society. In modern pseudo democracy, the constitutional monarch do not have the power to rule and ensure that the country belongs to them as would the absolute monarch, and the executive branch of the government are the actual absolute monarch without the desire that the society function in keeping with law, order and development. To them with money can migrate. The citizens suffer collateral damages. What was worse was through the policies which the ruling government implement to ensure their perpetual tenure, the people cannot even live in peace with each other without segregating by race and religion. The politicians that have turn Malaysia from pre 1969 days to its racial polarization and police state should be eternally burnt in hell.
#6 by k1980 on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 1:40 pm
Before the 13 GE, Anwar will get the “Aung San Suu Kyi Treatment” from the umno warlords.This is the only way umno can rule for another 50 years. Lu Protest, Gua Tangkap!
#7 by ctc537 on Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 3:00 pm
Just informed that Myanmar junta extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s 6-yr illegal detention by another 6 mths!
I’m glad that we can now see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Just hope that the junta would come to their senses and release Aung San Suu Kyi tomorrow (27-5-2009) as promised, not 6 months later.
Back to our country. We also hope PM Najib and BN leaders come to their senses – end the police crackdowns, hold fresh elections in Perak to end the endless political crisis there. Isn’t the government always saying that the rakyat are the boss while the elected Aduns and MPs are the servants? So, it is the absolute right of the boss to decide who holds this and that post. The boss is a very nice person but it doesn’t mean that they will not get angry and sack the misbehaved servants?