SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations said on Monday that Myanmar should work with the United Nations on democracy and release political detainees, but they barred a U.N. envoy from briefing a summit in Singapore where they will sign a charter promoting human rights.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to sign the charter on Tuesday that calls for promotion of democracy and human rights, though it has come under fire for member Myanmar after its junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
"Most leaders expressed the view that Myanmar could not go back or stay put. The process of national reconciliation has to move forward and the U.N. plays a vital role in this process," said Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, after a late-night emergency meeting of ASEAN leaders.
However, he said that U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari would not brief the ASEAN summit on developments in Myanmar after an objection by Myanmar's military prime minister Thein Sein.
Lee told reporters that Thein Sein made clear this was a domestic issue that Myanmar was "fully capable" of handling. ASEAN has a policy of non-interference in other members' domestic affairs and has rejected calls for Myanmar's suspension.
------------------------------------------
According to UK's Guardian, Singapore has banned all outdoor protests relating to Myanmar but small groups of international students briefly defied the ban.
ASEAN needs to get its story straight - how does it have a policy of non-interference in other members' domestic affairs while signing a charter on Tuesday that "calls for promotion of democracy and human rights"?Charter: A written document setting forth the governing principles of a group or organization.
So you sign a charter that contains governing principles that all members of the organization are to follow, while saying that you have a policy not to interfere or "govern" members....
No comments:
Post a Comment