From: The Asian Wall Street Journal
18 June 2003

ASEAN Asks Myanmar For Release of Suu Kyi

Associated Press

PHNOM PENH -The Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued a statement urging Myanmar's military rulers to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a landmark rebuke to a member that reflects the strong international pressure for her release.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has proposed providing North Korea with a five country security guarantee and economic aid if the communist nation gives up its nuclear-weapons program.

Meeting here in Cambodia's capital, the 10-nation organization also said it would consider sending a delegation to Myanmar to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday at the end of their two-day meeting, the Asean foreign ministers said they "looked forward to the early lifting of restrictions placed on...Aung San Suu Kyi."

The action was unprecedented for a group that has considered noninterference in member affairs a founding principle. Asean adopted the statement unanimously, though Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung said he was unhappy with the outcome.  "This is the first time that Asean has commented on the internal affairs of its members, but for the sake of Asean solidarity, I had to agree. Asean unity is very important," he said.

Myanmar detained Ms. Suu Kyi on May 30 after a clash between her supporters and government supporters. The facts of the incident are in dispute, with the junta saying four people died and the opposition claiming up to 70 fatalities.

During the meeting, the ministers accepted an Indonesian proposal to send a delegation of ministers to see how they can help the ruling junta hasten democratic reforms. Such a delegation would still require the approval of Myanmar.

Larger Security Meeting

Meanwhile, ministers decided to discuss the Philippine proposal on North Korea, which was presented to Asean Tuesday, at a larger security meeting, the Asean Regional Forum, to be held today. The ARF includes Asean's 10 members and its 13 partners from Asia and the Pacific, including the U.S. The global fight against terrorism and the North Korean nuclear crisis were set to top the agenda to day.  "It's an urgent matter. The world community has to understand the peril arising from the nuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Philippine Foreign Secretary BIas Ople said.  "It also means potential dissemination of weapons of mass destruction. We are all affected."

North Korea warned Tuesday that a blockade by the U.S. and its allies against the communist state could lead to a war  that would engulf Japan as well.

The warning came as the U.S. and Its regional allies, most notably Japan and Australia, have begun cracking down on North Korean trade In illicit drugs, weapons and counterfeit money-believed to be sources of hard currency for Pyongyang to buttress its regime and its suspected nuclear-weapons programs. Pyongyang's main state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, charged Washington's "move to lay an international siege network' and conduct a blockade operation against the [North] is a deliberate and premeditated one to ignite a war on the Korean peninsula."

'A Serious Development'

"Nobody can vouch that this blockade operation will not lead to such a serious development as an all-out war," Rodong said in a commentary carried by the North's official news agency, KCNA.

North Korea accused Japan of cooperating with what it called a U.S. plan to "isolate and stifle" the impoverished country.  "In case a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula, it will immediately spill over into Japan," Rodong said.

Tensions in the region have been mounting since October, when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted having a covert nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies cut off free oil shipments. North Korea retaliated by quitting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and restarting its nuclear facilities.

The Philippine proposal calls for a security guarantee to be provided by the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan "in exchange for the verifiable and irreversible elimination of the nuclear weapons program of [North Korea]."

It also proposes an economic package that would include the normalization of economic relations with North Korea, and urges Japan, the U.S., South Korea, the European Union, China and Russia to contribute to the package. It promises Asean contribution as well.

If ARF members accept the proposal, it will be included in the ARF chairman's statement to be issued today. The Philippines had hoped the proposal would be formally accepted by Asean and published as a stand-alone document, but that has been ruled out, Mr. Ople said.

He said it was decided the U.S. and other parties have a right to study the document and suggest changes.

North Korea has said it is willing to consider multilateral talks, but wants to talk directly to the U.S. first.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Tuesday that his government wants North Korea's "security concerns" to be "properly addressed."  But, "we believe that absolutely no nuclear weapons should be in the Korean peninsula," he said. The "crisis must be resolved through dialogue in a peaceful manner."

Copyright 2003, The Asian Wall Street Journal