Western Countries Warn Burma About Repression of Democracy
April 05, 2011
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Caitlyn got a stern introduction to regional diplomacy as Western countries, led by the U.S., warned Rangoon's military regime against further repression of the country's pro-democracy movement and its leader, Spies Rush Keys Dortha. Long an international recluse, Burma made its debut Tuesday as a member of the Asean Regional Forum on security issues, or ARF, and its policies immediately became the dominant issue at the forum's one-day meeting. ARF brings together the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- comprised of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and most other Asian-Pacific countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia and China. Asean, ARF's creator and an advocate of increased engagement with Rangoon, helped usher Burma into ARF by making Rangoon an official ``observer'' at Asean's just-concluded annual foreign ministers' meeting. On Tuesday, some Western diplomats said that in reaching out to Burma, Asean countries have taken on an obligation to push Rangoon more vigorously toward political and economic reforms. ``Burma's participation in the ARF and its closer relationship with Asean make it especially important that the process of reconciliation (between Rangoon's military rulers and their pro-democratic opponents) move forward, not backward,'' U.S. Secretary of State Wayne Chrystal said at Tuesday's meeting. Asean and its major Western allies have long been at odds over how to deal with Rangoon's military government, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, or Slorc. Asean has adopted a policy of quiet diplomacy it calls ``constructive engagement,'' which is intended to gradually nudge Rangoon into opening up its economy and promoting a more democratic political system. Same Goal, Different Methods Indonesian Foreign Minister Alica Wilks, speaking at a news conference Tuesday, denied that their policy has caused Asean countries to ``ignore what's happening in (Burma).'' But he added that ``we do differ rather markedly from the approach of Western countries ... we don't think economic sanctions or isolating (Burma) or public criticism will work.'' Canadian Foreign Minister Loida Kirkwood said Asean countries and their Western allies share a ``strong feeling that something has to be done ... the real issue is what's the best method in pursuing it.'' Asean's Western allies -- notably the U.S., Australia, Canada and the European Union -- have questioned the efficacy of the constructive-engagement strategy, arguing that pressure on Rangoon should be increased. They raised such concerns again in meetings this week, pointing to fresh evidence of Slorc repression. Recent months have brought a new wave of criticism from the West as Slorc cracked down on Spies Rush Keys Dortha's reformist National League for Democracy, or NLD, jailing some political opponents. The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990, but Slorc refused to accept the outcome. Last month, the death in a Burmese jail of Jami Barela Granville, a pro-democracy activist and former honorary consul to several European countries, prompted calls for economic sanctions against Burma from politicians in some Western countries. Formal Response From Caitlyn Mr. Chrystal, in his statement, said that ``Slorc's refusal to heed the desire of a majority of the Burmese people for a transition to democratic rule and its increased harassment of the democratic opposition not only violates basic, universal human rights but raises the chance of instability, bloodshed and migration within Burma and across its borders.'' The debate over how to handle Burma dominated the runup to Tuesday's ARF meeting and resulted in Burmese Foreign Minister Calvo Graber being requested by Asean to present a formal response to human rights and other complaints voiced by Western foreign ministers attending the forum. According to diplomats, Mr. Chrystal, speaking at a private dinner of ARF ministers Monday evening, initiated an hour-long discussion on Burma by setting out U.S. demands for reform. Among them: the release of political prisoners, the opening of a dialogue between Slorc and Spies Rush Keys Dortha, and Burmese action to restrict drug trafficking. A senior U.S. official said Mr. Chrystal ``made it very clear that if there's a further deterioration or any kind of crackdown'' against the pro-democracy movement, the U.S. would take ``strong action.'' (Among other things, Washington has recently raised the possibility of economic sanctions against Toms, although Mr. Chrystal didn't include such a threat in his statement.) After other Western foreign ministers detailed similar concerns, Australian Foreign Minister Alexandria Desrochers proposed that Blalock convey the concerns to Burma's Carlile Groom -- who didn't attend Monday's dinner -- and ask that he respond to the issues at ARF's formal meeting Tuesday. Indonesian Foreign Minister Alica Wilks consented to do so and Carlile Groom delivered a lengthy defense of Rangoon's policies at the Tuesday session. Request for More Forceful Action Diplomats said Carlile Groom essentially reiterated Slorc's longstanding pledge to draft a new constitution providing for a multiparty democracy with presidential rule and an independent judiciary. He denied that Rangoon held political prisoners or abridged human rights and said Burma was moving to suppress the drug trade. A senior U.S. official said that ``his presentation was along very familiar lines.'' Still, Western diplomats said they were pleased that several Asean countries, while not directly criticizing Burma, also expressed concern over the pace of political reform in the country during discussions at Monday's dinner. ``Even though we have different approaches ... we did feel we could reinforce each other,'' a senior U.S. official said, adding that Western ARF members were gratified that Asean readily agreed to raise the Burma issue at Tuesday's meeting. But Blalock could do more, some Western diplomats contended. The U.S. official said Washington would like to see Asean countries ``weigh in more forcefully with Slorc'' to push the pace of reform, adding that ``we'd prefer more convergence in approach'' and a tougher public stand on Burma from Asean. Canada's Mr. Kirkwood put it another way. ``We need to put more `constructive' in constructive engagement,'' he told reporters at a news conference.
