Extension of Suu Kyi's detention has damaged ASEAN image: RI

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 05/29/2007 8:40 AM

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia has expressed deep concerns over the Myanmar junta's decision to extend the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying the decision has hurt the junta's claim to be working toward democracy and the good image of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

""The decision is against calls from ASEAN and the international community, which all along have urged Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi,"" Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Kristiarto said Indonesia has reminded Myanmar the continued detention of Suu Kyi violates ASEAN's shared commitment to upholding the principles of human rights and democracy.

On Friday, the military junta of Myanmar ordered the Nobel peace laureate, who has spent most of the past 17 years in detention, be kept under house arrest for another year.

The decision came despite mounting calls for the junta to free the 61 year old, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections but was never allowed to govern.

Many feel Suu Kyi's detention was extended because the junta is fearful the hugely popular democratic leader may threaten its rule.

The international community has joined in the chorus condemning the junta's decision to extend Suu Kyi's detention, according to an AFP report.

The United States and the European Union (EU) immediately led the international condemnation concerning the decision, calling for Suu Kyi's immediate release.

Germany, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, urged Myanmar's ruling junta to rethink its decision, saying, ""all international appeals... have once more gone unheard.""

Japan, which maintains cordial ties with Myanmar, on Monday voiced concern about the junta's extension of Suu Kyi's detention.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was no justification for Suu Kyi's continued detention or for the imprisonment of more than 1,000 political prisoners.

""I am saddened and disappointed by the decision of the Burmese (Myanmarese) regime to once again extend the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for a further year,"" Downer said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said earlier the foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries would discuss Myanmar's continued defiance at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila in early August.

""It's up to the ministers what steps ASEAN will take,"" he said.

The junta crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and two years later rejected the results of national elections won by the NLD.

The military, which has ruled the country since 1962, has spelled out a ""road map"" for democracy, including talks on a new constitution, but the NLD has boycotted the process.

ASEAN countries and the international community have been frustrated by the slow progress of democratization made by the junta.

The UN Security Council failed late last year to issue a resolution to hand down sanctions on Myanmar after a U.S.-backed draft was vetoed by China and Russia.

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