RI, ASEAN lower bar for junta

ASEAN member nations seem to be in the mood of letting Myanmar proceed with general elections on Nov. 7.

Indications of ASEAN’s softening stance on Myanmar were evident at its foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday and at its leaders’ summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday.

Diplomats at the summit confirmed that Myanmar’s leader, Sr. Gen. Than Shwe, would not participate in the polls, although it was unclear what role he would play after the elections, AP reported.

On Wednesday, some ASEAN ministers reacted to Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win’s unclear announcement on the potential release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Myanmar did not deny that Suu Kyi’s detention would end on Nov. 13, adding however, Nyan Win had not confirmed that the Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released unconditionally.

“Our understanding is that the term of her sentence will end in November, and that understanding was not disputed,” Marty said.

On Thursday, ASEAN leaders did not discuss the issue.

Indonesia, which previously criticized Myanmar for a lack of transparency in the upcoming election, has not issued a statement on the issue. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s absence due to the Mentawai tsunami or a change in Indonesia’s approach might be behind the current silence, according to sources.

“We will not raise the Myanmar issue here. [Indonesia’s] foreign minister has made it clear that we’ll look at what happens after the election,” Foreign Ministry ASEAN political and security affairs director Ade Padmo Sarwono said.

Indonesian officials have agreed that the nation would prefer to level criticisms against Myanmar in bilateral forums to bolster its bargaining position with the junta.

The Philippines was the only ASEAN member nation to condemn Myanmar’s election, with its representative describing the polls as a “farce to democratic values”.

But a new wind might blow from US President Barack Obama who may implement a new approach to court Myanmar from China’s and North Korea’s spheres of influence.

Reuters reported from Washington that Jim Webb, the US Senator who traveled to Myanmar last year, said Myanmar might become “a province of China” if the US did not engage the country.

Obama’s administration launched its highest-level talks with the Myanmar in 14 years last November, but has since publicly expressed disappointment with Myanmar’s response.

Webb said US diplomats were divided on the issue and had failed to act on signals from Myanmar last year that offered “a different formula” for engagement.