bigsale
November 15th, 2007, 06:46 AM
External pressure futile, says visiting Myanmar minister
http://kerrycollison.net/uploads/images/burmasoldiers.jpg
THE occasion was to celebrate a milestone for Asean defence cooperation, but it was the Myanmar issue that drew the attention of some foreign journalists yesterday.
Quizzed yesterday at a press conference held after the second Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel, Myanmar's Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, declared: "We totally control the situation."
Reports of activists being detained have been streaming out of the military-ruled state, weeks after anti-democracy protests were quelled by the army.
Asked for an explanation, Mr Myint reiterated that the situation in Myanmar was "in normalcy" and that the junta had detained 91 persons — 49 in Yangon and 42 in other cities — who are "under investigation".
Amnesty International has estimated that of the 3,000 people originally rounded up, about 700, including democracy activist Aung San Su Kyi and her aide Mr Min Ko Naing, were still in detention.
But Mr Myint asserted: "After questioning, most of them are released. We will be taking action according to the violation of law and the terrorism act."
In a pointed sobering message, Mr Myint implied that any external pressure to quicken Myanmar's democratisation process — or what its regime laid out as a seven-step blueprint in 2003 — would prove to be futile.
Mr Myint remarked that the junta was open to the "constructive assistance and understanding from Asean countries and all other countries".
However, Mr Myint told the 20 or so journalists: "We believe that our homegrown principle is viable for the long-term operation of the political process, because my opinion is that nobody can understand Myanmar … we will not accept interferences that will harm our sovereignty."
Singapore's Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said that Mr Myint had given the Asean defence ministers an update during the four-hour meeting.
The member states had also "encouraged Myanmar to give access" to United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari and its special human rights rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
Mr Teo added: "The meeting also expressed the hope that Myanmar will be able to progress speedily towards reconciliation ...
"We all want to see a stable Myanmar which moves along together with the rest of Asean."
A Reuters journalist then tried to ask the Asean ministers about Singapore's arms sales to Myanmar.
Mr Teo replied that the subject was not discussed at the meeting but had been "comprehensively replied to" by Foreign Minister George Yeo in Parliament about three weeks ago.
Mr Yeo had said there have been no defence sales to Myanmar in recent years, and past sales, which were not substantial, were "carefully limited to items that are not suitable for countering civilian unrest".
The journalist made a second attempt to get the respective ministers to comment but Mr Teo reiterated: "This was not on the agenda and was not discussed."
Meanwhile, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed has completed an overnight visit to Myanmar, where he noted "recent encouraging developments".
On Tuesday, Mr Zainul called on Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein to brief him on preparations for the Asean summit, which Singapore is hosting next week.
Said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement: "Mr Zainul also informed General Thein Sein that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong looked forward to welcoming him to Singapore for the summit meetings."
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/222239.asp
http://kerrycollison.net/uploads/images/burmasoldiers.jpg
THE occasion was to celebrate a milestone for Asean defence cooperation, but it was the Myanmar issue that drew the attention of some foreign journalists yesterday.
Quizzed yesterday at a press conference held after the second Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel, Myanmar's Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, declared: "We totally control the situation."
Reports of activists being detained have been streaming out of the military-ruled state, weeks after anti-democracy protests were quelled by the army.
Asked for an explanation, Mr Myint reiterated that the situation in Myanmar was "in normalcy" and that the junta had detained 91 persons — 49 in Yangon and 42 in other cities — who are "under investigation".
Amnesty International has estimated that of the 3,000 people originally rounded up, about 700, including democracy activist Aung San Su Kyi and her aide Mr Min Ko Naing, were still in detention.
But Mr Myint asserted: "After questioning, most of them are released. We will be taking action according to the violation of law and the terrorism act."
In a pointed sobering message, Mr Myint implied that any external pressure to quicken Myanmar's democratisation process — or what its regime laid out as a seven-step blueprint in 2003 — would prove to be futile.
Mr Myint remarked that the junta was open to the "constructive assistance and understanding from Asean countries and all other countries".
However, Mr Myint told the 20 or so journalists: "We believe that our homegrown principle is viable for the long-term operation of the political process, because my opinion is that nobody can understand Myanmar … we will not accept interferences that will harm our sovereignty."
Singapore's Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said that Mr Myint had given the Asean defence ministers an update during the four-hour meeting.
The member states had also "encouraged Myanmar to give access" to United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari and its special human rights rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
Mr Teo added: "The meeting also expressed the hope that Myanmar will be able to progress speedily towards reconciliation ...
"We all want to see a stable Myanmar which moves along together with the rest of Asean."
A Reuters journalist then tried to ask the Asean ministers about Singapore's arms sales to Myanmar.
Mr Teo replied that the subject was not discussed at the meeting but had been "comprehensively replied to" by Foreign Minister George Yeo in Parliament about three weeks ago.
Mr Yeo had said there have been no defence sales to Myanmar in recent years, and past sales, which were not substantial, were "carefully limited to items that are not suitable for countering civilian unrest".
The journalist made a second attempt to get the respective ministers to comment but Mr Teo reiterated: "This was not on the agenda and was not discussed."
Meanwhile, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed has completed an overnight visit to Myanmar, where he noted "recent encouraging developments".
On Tuesday, Mr Zainul called on Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein to brief him on preparations for the Asean summit, which Singapore is hosting next week.
Said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement: "Mr Zainul also informed General Thein Sein that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong looked forward to welcoming him to Singapore for the summit meetings."
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/222239.asp