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SEAN’s latest request for the United States, the European Union (EU) and Canada to lift their sanctions on Myanmar may face challenges from their internal political situations.

ASEAN addressed that request during an ASEAN ministerial meeting on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, last month.

But it is ASEAN that needs to convince their counterparts that it is the best solution possible for a better Myanmar and it is up to them whether they are willing to confront and able to convince their politicians at home, experts say.

“The Lombok meeting implied that the chance to see democratization [in Myanmar] happen as soon as possible would become smaller if the US failed to meet ASEAN’s demand,” University of Indonesian international relations expert Hariyadi Wirawan told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“It is the US government’s responsibility to convince the US Congress and the US House of Representatives [that lifting sanctions on Myanmar would help settle issues in that country].”

He said Myanmar might not become a democratic country like the US wanted but would rather be like Malaysia or Singapore.

But Myanmar had nothing to lose if the US finally decided to turn down ASEAN’s request because the restive country was not in a hurry toward democracy and still had China in the backyard as its main ally, Hariyadi said.

Moreover, he said, alienating Myanmar would only cost the Southeast Asian region’s stability in the end of the day.

Parahyangan University international relations expert Bantarto Bandoro said ASEAN’s request showed that the bloc had no more ammo to solve issues in Myanmar, relying on sanction removal.

“Sanctions are actually a positive thing to certain degree. But they should be reviewed periodically and may perhaps need to end when there are [positive] changes,” he told the Post. “[Therefore] ASEAN needs to be more proactive [in persuading the US to finally lift sanctions on Myanmar].”

During the Lombok meeting, ASEAN foreign ministers said the US, the EU and Canada — all ASEAN dialog partners — needed to consider lifting their sanctions because Myanmar had “successfully conducted general elections” and released Nobel laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest late last year.

“We believe that recent developments need to be responded to the international community, especially to ensure that economic development in Myanmar can take place,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said after the meeting.

“However, it should be remembered that lifting the bans and reconciliation go hand in hand.”

In response to the request, the US secretary of state’s deputy assistant Joseph Y. Yun recently said: “These are excellent demands from the ASEAN ministers, and I think the Myanmar authorities should really take them to heart and make them a reality.”

Yun, who oversees affairs in East Asia and the Pacific, said then there would be a positive response if Myanmar’s government had complied with all the requests from the international community.

“And clearly, as the reconciliation process makes progress, I think the international community can ensure a response,” he said.

Myanmar joined ASEAN in 1997 despite strong opposition from Western nations.

The US and a number of other countries imposed sanctions — both diplomatic and economic — on Myanmar for its poor human rights record and slow move toward democracy.