Asahi : Japan to join calls for dem

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Japan to join calls for democracy in Myanmar

By KISHIKO HISADA 

Asahi Evening News 

Japan is poised to aggressively urge Myanmar (Burma) to promote
democracy--a policy switch that coincides with the moves of some Southeast
Asian nations to depart from their traditional policies of
non-interference, Foreign Ministry sources said. 

At key meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this
week in the Philippines, Tokyo will agree with the Philippines and Thailand
who want to end their policies of not interfering in the internal affairs
of other ASEAN members, the sources said. 

Japan is not a member of the association, but is often included in talks
because of its heavy investment in the region. Japan's participation this
week will take place at ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conferences and the ASEAN
Regional Forum, which run in tandem with the ASEAN members' meetings. 

The Philippines and Thailand insist that the regional group needs a
"flexible engagement" policy. 

By backing this proposal, Japan aims to put more pressure on Myanmar to
promote democratic reforms. 

But the proposal will face opposition from other ASEAN members, notably
Indonesia and, of course, Myanmar, the sources said. 

Japan has called for Myanmar to improve its democratization and human
rights record in the past. But these requests have been ignored. 

In recent months, tensions have increased between the government and the
National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar. The military junta there
has prevented Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi from traveling
freely since June. 

Some ASEAN nations say the group needs to scrap its non-interference stance
to protect its interests. 

"If we do not speak out about Myanmar, ASEAN will be blamed by the United
States or the EU," sources quoted Philippines Foreign Minister Domingo
Siazon as telling a recent luncheon meeting of ASEAN ambassadors at Manila.


Siazon criticized the Myanmar government for failing to honor its pledges
and begin talks with the NLD, which is headed by Suu Kyi. 

Against this background, Siazon and Thai Foreign Minister Pitsuwan Surin
have called for a review of ASEAN's non-interference policy. 

They contend that member nations should be allowed to give advice or
warnings to other members when their domestic affairs could adversely
affect the interests of the association. 

The Japanese government is expressing its support for ASEAN's speak-out
policy in the aftermath of the collapse of the Suharto regime in
Indonesia--once a successful, development-driven, authoritarian system.
Now, Indonesia itself is reviewing its traditional hands-off policy toward
Asian nations such as Myanmar. 

The Japanese government sent a confidential letter from Prime Minister
Ryutaro Hashimoto to Myanmar officials in May to urge the military leaders
to convene parliamentary sessions in the summer for democracy. In addition,
Kazuo Asakai, the Japanese ambassador to Myanmar, asked Myanmar ministers
to guarantee political freedom this month. 

"We hope that such a move (flexible engagement policy) will lead to the
promotion of democratization and improvement of the human rights situation
in Myanmar," said Sadaaki Numata, spokesman at Japan's Foreign Ministry,
earlier this month. 

Some observers said Japan is expressing support for the new policy because
it does not want to be viewed by the United States as lagging behind the
Philippines or Thailand in calling for democracy in Myanmar, the sources
said. 

According to Japanese diplomats, Tokyo will express its support despite the
fact that ASEAN members nations are far from united on the issue. 

In addition to Myanmar and Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam oppose the
proposed policy change apparently because their domestic situations could
come under criticism from other nations, observers said. 

In fact, the majority of ASEAN foreign ministers, including Myanmar's,
opposed the "flexible engagement" policy at an unofficial dinner of the
ASEAN meeting on Thursday. However, the Japanese government will continue
to support the change in policy because it realizes that the Philippines
and Thailand will not abandon their attempt to scrap the non-interference
policy. 

The collapse of Suharto regime led the Japanese government to review its
policies toward Myanmar. 

The government has decided to aggressively demand improved democracy and
human rights in Myanmar in return for Japanese aid. But Tokyo will not go
so far as to stop aid to the country if democracy is not accomplished. This
tactic is often used by the United States in the form of economic
sanctions. 

"The flexible engagement policy will benefit ASEAN from a long-term
perspective," said Takashi Shiraishi, a professor of Southeast Asian
studies at Kyoto University. 

Indonesia's turmoil has seriously affected the entire Asian economy. "It is
being realized that economic and political affairs cannot be divorced and
that it is thus natural for ASEAN nations to give advice to other member
nations on internal affairs for the sake of the Asian economy as a whole,"
Shiraishi noted.