Asean Should Bide Its Time on Burma Getting Key Role

Much more needs to be done before Naypyidaw is allowed to chair the regional body in the year 2014

If one cuts through the hype about change in Burma, about how the supposedly civilian administration in Naypyidaw is turning away from its repugnant policies of the past, concrete evidence of new thinking and a new approach by the regime headed by President Thein Sein is relatively slim […]

In Brief: Activists call for delay in Myanmar’s ASEAN chairmanship

Activists are calling on the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to postpone Myanmar’s chairmanship until all political prisoners are released.

“We should not rush in and give the carrot away too soon,” Khin Omar, coordinator for the Burma Partnership […]

Exiles Want More Change Before Burma Given Asean Chair

Recent reforms by the Burmese government are not enough to warrant the country’s taking the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2014, say long-time opposition exiles.

The Burmese government is pressing to head the ten-state regional bloc, after being refused its turn to hold the rotating Asean chair in 2006. Incumbent Indonesia is sending Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to Burma to discuss the matter, prior to an upcoming Asean summit in Bali scheduled for Nov 17 […]

RI to assess development in Myanmar

Along with the government, the House of Representatives will assess the latest developments in Myanmar before deciding on whether to accept Myanmar’s bid for the chairmanship of ASEAN at the Bali Summit next month.

Deputy Chairman of the House’s Commission I on foreign affairs, TB Hasanuddin, said that his commission had set a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, in order to assess the situation in Myanmar, including the progress that the country had made in terms of democratization […]

RI told to delay ASEAN decision on Myanmar chair bid

The ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) called on current ASEAN chair Indonesia to delay agreeing on Myanmar becoming ASEAN chair in 2014 until the country showed real progress in democratization.

Observers and stakeholders are speculating that during the ASEAN summit in Bali next month, ASEAN leaders will agree to grant Myanmar the grouping’s chair […]

ASEAN’s Chance in Burma

In the lead up to the next ASEAN Summit in Bali next month and the upcoming UN General Assembly Resolution on human rights in Burma, the regime in Yangon has been trying to win over the international community by taking some very calculated steps. They have held meetings with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, invited UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana to visit the country, and unblocked several foreign publications and websites […]

Set up probe council for Myanmar: Asian NGOs

Various non government organisations in Asia are urging their respective governments to support the formation of a “Commission of Inquiry” that will conduct impartial investigation into alleged international crimes in Myanmar.

In letters to their respective governments, civil society groups from Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand stressed that “a Commission of Inquiry would be an impartial investigation to establish the truth about serious international crimes in the country” […]

Exiles put forward ‘benchmarks’ for Burma’s government

Burmese democracy activists in exile say they do not see the on-going interactions between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese government as a “dialogue” but rather as “talks.”

Speaking at a seminar on “Democratization and Reconciliation: Burma at the Crossroads,” the activists put forward three key benchmarks if Burma is to see real democratization […]

‘Welcome Home’ Greeted with Skepticism

Most Burmese exile groups were skeptical about an announcement by President Thein Sein on Wednesday that his government would allow dissidents to return to the country, but at least some welcomed the idea as something worth considering.

In a speech to local businessmen in Napyidaw, Thein Sein said the government would take a “benevolent attitude” toward exiles who chose to return […]

Suu Kyi Addresses Community of Democracies

Ahead of her first trip outside of Rangoon since her release from house arrest last year, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi told the Community of Democracies (CoD) in a prerecorded address that she expected Burma to achieve democracy in the near future […]