ASEAN: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICT

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Subject: ASEAN:  WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?



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Subject: ASEAN Burma (Cambodia) team seen making some progress

WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A REUTER STORY!!  IT IS A REUTER STORY WITH
CAMBODIA REPLACED BY BURMA, PHNOM PENH BY RANGOON, UNG HUOT BY OHN GYAW,
HUN SEN BY SLORC.  ANY CHANGES OF ACTUAL TEXT HAVE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
TEXT IN PARENTHESIS.  THE ARTICLE IS PROVIDED IN FULL AT THE END.

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY ASEAN LEADERS SAY ALL THESE THINGS ABOUT CAMBODIA,
BUT NOT ABOUT BURMA?  The inconsistency seems so obvious that it ought to
be very difficult for ASEAN to maintain.
  	  				 
	 RANGOON, Aug 1 (Reuter) - An ASEAN delegation makes a  
return trip to Rangoon on Saturday for a second attempt to 
solve Burma's troubles two weeks after strongman SLORC 
bluntly rejected an offer. 
	 But diplomats and political analysts said on Friday they  
were cautiously optimistic that this time talks between the 
three Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign 
ministers and SLORC could produce some progress. 
	 Burma was scheduled to join ASEAN in late July, but the  
grouping postponed its membership indefinitely in response to 
SLORC's bloody overthrow of election results.
	(bloody overthrow of his senior coalition partner, 
Prince Norodom Ranariddh). 
	 ``They have been welcomed back so I think a more prudent  
expectation is there should be some positive development,'' one 
diplomat from the region said. 
	 ``I understand there have been assurances of some forward  
movement but what it might be we don't know. They're keeping it 
close to their chest,'' he said of the Burmese side. 
	 ``I am hopeful,'' said another Asian diplomat. ``They  
realise that their destiny is with us, it is in their interests 
to be in ASEAN.'' 
	 The ASEAN team will comprise the same men who flew to Rangoon and
tried unsuccessfully to launch a mediation effort two 
weeks ago -- foreign ministers Ali Alatas of Indonesia, Prachuab 
Chaiyasan of Thailand and Domingo Siazon of the Philippines. 
	 Alatas said on Friday the ASEAN team would offer ideas to  
SLORC on ways to resolve the political crisis. 
	 ``The three ASEAN foreign ministers will convey ideas on how  
we can contribute to a settlement of the Burma crisis,'' 
Alatas told reporters in Jakarta. 
	 He declined to give details of the proposals to be made.  
	 ``It is difficult to say at this stage. We want to see how  
to restore political stability in Burma,'' Alatas said. 
	SLORC came to power in a bloody 1988 coup in reaction to massive
popular demonstrations calling for an end to military rule.  In 1990
elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD) swept 82% of the
parliamentary seats.  The SLORC is under rising international pressure
over its repression of democracy, violations of basic human rights and
narcotics exports.  It has refused to hold a dialogue with NLD leaders and
leaders of ethnic minority groups. 
	(Second Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his co-premier,  
Ranariddh, on July 6 after two days of battles in Phnom Penh and 
bluntly rejected all attempts to mediate in the crisis.) 
	( He refused a mediation offer from King Norodom Sihanouk and  
later dismissed all foreign intervention in his country 
including an offer to help from the three ASEAN foreign 
ministers. )
	 A political analyst said he expected the ASEAN team to  
receive a more diplomatic response from SLORC on Saturday. 
	 ``SLORC may not necessarily soften its position but I think  
they'll conduct themselves in more of an ASEAN way,'' the local 
analyst said. ``ASEAN is about negotiation, compromise and 
consensus. It's very important for the two sides to begin some 
sort of negotiation.'' 
	 Burmese Foreign Minster Ohn Gyaw said on Friday his  
government would discuss peace and stability with the ASEAN 
mission but suggested the grouping should not interfere in 
Burma's internal affairs. 
	 ``Anything that is not interference in our internal problems  
we can accept,'' Ohn Gyaw told reporters. 
	 But diplomats in Rangoon said Ohn Gyaw's remarks could be  
posturing ahead of the talks on Saturday and not a rejection of 
any role for ASEAN. 
	 ``I think there will be some forward movement but there's  
major jockeying for position going on to see who can come out of 
this without losing face,'' said a Western envoy. 
	 Burma's troubles dominated a recent ASEAN foreign  
ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur. 
	 The grouping was thrown into confusion by conflicting  
signals from Burma over whether or not the SLORC-controlled 
government would welcome a mediation effort.
	Ohn Gyaw said Burma wanted ASEAN to mediate while other SLORC
leaders have timed crackdowns and military attacks on minorities to
embarrass ASEAN. 
	 (Ung Huot said Cambodia wanted ASEAN to mediate while Hun Sen  
said ASEAN's role should be limited to preventing outside 
interference in Cambodia.) 
	 But after ASEAN requested clarification on the issue, Ohn  
Gyaw wrote to the group on behalf of SLORC, inviting the trio 
of foreign ministers back to Rangoon for talks. 
	 ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos,  
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
-=-=-	 



         PHNOM PENH, Aug 1 (Reuter) - An ASEAN delegation makes a  
return trip to Phnom Penh on Saturday for a second attempt to 
solve Cambodia's troubles two weeks after strongman Hun Sen 
bluntly rejected an offer. 
         But diplomats and political analysts said on Friday they  
were cautiously optimistic that this time talks between the 
three Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign 
ministers and Hun Sen could produce some progress. 
         Cambodia was scheduled to join ASEAN in late July, but the  
grouping postponed its membership indefinitely in response to 
Hun Sen's bloody overthrow of his senior coalition partner, 
Prince Norodom Ranariddh. 
         ``They have been welcomed back so I think a more prudent  
expectation is there should be some positive development,'' one 
diplomat from the region said. 
         ``I understand there have been assurances of some forward  
movement but what it might be we don't know. They're keeping it 
close to their chest,'' he said of the Cambodian side. 
         ``I am hopeful,'' said another Asian diplomat. ``They  
realise that their destiny is with us, it is in their interests 
to be in ASEAN.'' 
         The ASEAN team will comprise the same men who flew to Phnom  
Penh and tried unsuccessfully to launch a mediation effort two 
weeks ago -- foreign ministers Ali Alatas of Indonesia, Prachuab 
Chaiyasan of Thailand and Domingo Siazon of the Philippines. 
         Alatas said on Friday the ASEAN team would offer ideas to  
Hun Sen on ways to resolve the political crisis. 
         ``The three ASEAN foreign ministers will convey ideas on how  
we can contribute to a settlement of the Cambodia crisis,'' 
Alatas told reporters in Jakarta. 
         He declined to give details of the proposals to be made.  
         ``It is difficult to say at this stage. We want to see how  
to restore political stability in Cambodia,'' Alatas said. 
         Second Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his co-premier,  
Ranariddh, on July 6 after two days of battles in Phnom Penh and 
bluntly rejected all attempts to mediate in the crisis. 
         He refused a mediation offer from King Norodom Sihanouk and  
later dismissed all foreign intervention in his country 
including an offer to help from the three ASEAN foreign 
ministers. 
         A political analyst said he expected the ASEAN team to  
receive a more diplomatic response from Hun Sen on Saturday. 
         ``He may not necessarily soften his position but I think  
he'll conduct himself in more of an ASEAN way,'' the local 
analyst said. ``ASEAN is about negotiation, compromise and 
consensus. It's very important for the two sides to begin some 
sort of negotiation.'' 
         Cambodian Foreign Minster Ung Huot said on Friday his  
government would discuss peace and stability with the ASEAN 
mission but suggested the grouping should not interfere in 
Cambodia's internal affairs. 
         ``Anything that is not interference in our internal problems  
we can accept,'' Ung Huot told reporters. 
         But diplomats in Phnom Penh said Ung Huot's remarks could be  
posturing ahead of the talks on Saturday and not a rejection of 
any role for ASEAN. 
         ``I think there will be some forward movement but there's  
major jockeying for position going on to see who can come out of 
this without losing face,'' said a Western envoy. 
         Cambodia's troubles dominated a recent ASEAN foreign  
ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur. 
         The grouping was thrown into confusion by conflicting  
signals from Cambodia over whether or not the Hun Sen-controlled 
government would welcome a mediation effort. 
         Ung Huot said Cambodia wanted ASEAN to mediate while Hun Sen  
said ASEAN's role should be limited to preventing outside 
interference in Cambodia. 
         But after ASEAN requested clarification on the issue, Ung  
Huot wrote to the group on behalf of Hun Sen, inviting the trio 
of foreign ministers back to Phnom Penh for talks. 
         ASEAN currently groups Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos,  
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
-=-=-