Southeast Asia Seeks More Aid; Maya

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

Southeast Asia Seeks More Aid

By TOM RAUM
 .c The Associated Press 

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Strapped Asian nations sought more assistance from
wealthy countries as they wrapped up a wide-ranging diplomatic conference on
Tuesday, but Secretary of State Madeleine Albright cautioned, ``this crisis is
not going to be resolved by aid alone.'' 

Participants also sought to end a tense standoff in Myanmar. 

The United States and key allies orchestrated an effort to pressure Myanmar's
military regime to end a highway impasse between Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi and security forces. 

``The military leaders of Burma must enter into a dialogue with the opposition
movement that so clearly represents its people,'' Albright told a breakfast
meeting of American businessmen and businesswomen here as she prepared to head
for Papua New Guinea and then Australia. 

Myanmar was formerly known as Burma, a designation still used by U.S.
officials. 

In a tense conference, delegates from the United States, New Zealand,
Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union confronted
Myanmar Foreign Minister Ohn Gayaw over the crisis. 

They also delegated U.S., Australian and Japanese diplomats in the capital of
Myanmar to try to meet with the democratic activist. She has been stuck on a
rural Myanmar highway surrounded by government security personnel since last
Friday. 

The annual forum sponsored by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
concluded with lighthearted skits - including an ``East-West Story'' love duet
by Albright and Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and an Indian number
poking fun at its nuclear tests - and a serious appeal for new financing and
investment for the region. 

But the United States, Japan and other countries did not announce any new aid
packages and said that while they will continue to help, Southeast Asian
countries themselves must persevere with painful political and economic
reforms if they are to recover. 

``Foreign direct assistance will be essential to getting this region back on
track,'' Albright said at an American Chamber of Commerce breakfast. ``But we
also have to recognize that this crisis is not going to be resolved by aid
alone.'' 

After three days in the Philippines, Albright was traveling Wednesday to Papua
New Guinea to discuss tidal-wave disaster relief with the island nation's
leaders, and then on Australia. 

China's representative, meanwhile, told the concluding session of the ASEAN
conference the region's economic crisis ``will stay at a low ebb for a period
of time.'' 

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Asia's recovery must come from within for
it to be lasting. He reiterated a Chinese pledge not to devalue its currency. 

The conference chairman, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon, said the
rich countries had a ``paramount role'' in restoring economic vibrancy to the
region. 

Siazon said the United States should increase its share of funding for the
International Monetary Fund. The IMF's reserves have been depleted by bailouts
of several Asian nations in the past year. The Clinton administration's
request for $18 billion for the IMF has been languishing in Congress for
months. 

The highway standoff in Myanmar once again occupied much of the discussions on
the sidelines of the conference. 

Suu Kyi has been stuck in her car and surrounded by government security
personnel since last Friday, when she was stopped on her way to a meeting with
supporters. 

At the hastily arranged meeting on Tuesday to confront the Myanmar foreign
minister, ``a lot of pressure was exerted on the leadership of Myanmar to
change their ways, their policies,'' said Wolfgang Schuessel, president of the
European Council, the European Union's policy-making body. 

``I hope this can have some impact,'' Schuessel added. ``The blockade of Aung
San Suu Kyi in the car is absolutely unbearable.'' 

Several participants voiced skepticism over claims by Cambodian strongman Hun
Sen that his ruling party had won a clear-cut victory in Sunday's
parliamentary elections. 

``The only thing we know for a fact is that the Cambodian people voted in
large numbers as they did in the previous election,'' Albright said. 

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Hun Sen claimed a landslide victory in parliamentary
elections for his Cambodian People's Party, prompting allegations of fraud by
the opposition. 

Albright said at a news conference: ``I think it is premature for anyone to
declare major victory, because as far as I know not a large percentage of the
vote has been counted.'' 

AP-NY-07-28-98 2055EDT