Block Burma's leadership of ASEAN

Block Burma's leadership of ASEAN, urges Pimentel

Dec 6 (Philippine Daily Inquirer) - Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday urged the government to block Burma's (Myanmar) assumption of the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a regional grouping to which the Philippines belongs, in 2006.

Pimentel made the call saying he wanted the government, as well as the other members of Asean, to pressure Burma's military junta to free Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition political leaders from detention, as well as to institute democratic reforms in that country.

Pimentel issued the statement on his return from an Asean parliamentarian conference in Malaysia on Nov. 27-28 that discussed the "unjust restrictions on the freedom of movement of Burma's opposition leaders by the military junta," among other topics.

"(The extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest was) in blatant disregard of Burma's commitment to respect the human rights of its people and to abide by democratic principles when it was admitted into Asean seven years ago,'' Pimentel said.

Pimentel urged the Senate to ask Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo to express the chamber's sentiment that Burma's recent moves "make it unworthy to chair the Asean in 2006.''

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