Indonesia says Myanmar promised to press reforms

Indonesia says Myanmar promised to press reforms

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said on Sunday he had received assurances from Myanmar's military rulers that they would move toward democracy despite sacking the country's prime minister, but he said those assurance could prompt skepticism.

''They assured us they would redouble their efforts and hope for concrete results but of course that is something which many would accept with skepticism, '' Wirajuda told Reuters in an interview in Santiago during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.

Wirajuda was the first senior overseas visitor to Myanmar, formerly Burma, after the military junta replaced Prime Minister Khin Nyunt amid corruption charges in October.

He said he met with Myanmar's foreign minister and new Prime Minister Soe Win on Nov.12, but details of his visit have been slow to emerge.

Since that visit, Myanmar's military leaders, who have ruthlessly silenced opposition, made a mass release of prisoners but it was not clear whether this pointed to serious political reform.

The government change in October surprised Myanmar's fellow members of 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which have followed a policy of ''constructive engagement'' with a government shunned in the West for its human rights abuses.

The purge ousted a prime minister believed to be ready to at least talks to detained democracy figure Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Noble peace prize laureate has been under house arrest in one form or another since May last year and her detention is a focus of Western dissatisfaction with the military rulers.

''We felt that we and others in Asia are left in the dark about developments, that's why we in Indonesia tried to establish contact to get first hand information,'' Wirajuda said. He wanted to establish the level of commitment to a road map to democracy set out by Khin Nyunt last year.

''They assured us the road map and reconciliation policy were not just the former Prime Minister's personal policy, but this policy was made by the collective leadership and said this policy would be continued,'' Wirajuda said.

Wirajuda said the new leadership pledged to go ahead with a national convention early in 2005 to pproduce a new constitution.

He said he specifically asked whether Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which is boycotting that convention, would be allowed to join the election process that is on the road map after the new constitution is drawn up.

''They did not respond, '' Wirajuda said.

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