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| Sunday, 29 June 2003 |
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Myanmar can't ignore neighbours' call to free Aung San Suu Kyi UN envoy JAKARTA, Saturday (AFP) Myanmar can no longer afford to ignore appeals from its Southeast Asian neighbours for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the United Nations special envoy on Myanmar said Saturday. "I don't see how Myanmar can turn a deaf ear to the appeal of the ASEAN countries," Razali Ismail told AFP after meeting Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, who chairs the 10-member regional grouping which includes Myanmar. Razali, from Malaysia, said he met for one hour with Wirayuda to learn about the steps being considered by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to deal with the issues of national reconciliation and democracy in Myanmar. "It was a very helpful discussion over breakfast," he said. "As I understand it, all things are being considered. "My purpose here... is to underline how seriously the UN looks at the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Razali. ASEAN foreign ministers meeting this month called for Aung San Suu Kyi's release, breaking a decades-old convention of non-interference in members' internal affairs. Myanmar's military junta announced on May 31 that the popular leader had been detained. She was held after a junta-backed mob attacked her supporters in violence feared to have left dozens dead. Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said Wirayuda briefed Razali on discussions held at this month's ASEAN annual ministerial meetings in Phnom Penh. |
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