|
By Francis Earl A. Cueto Reporter
Tumultuous Myanmar holds the fate
of Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Charter in its
hands, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Wednesday.
At a Christmas luncheon with
reporters, Romulo said the ratification of the Asean Charter hinges
on proof that Myanmar is following its promised “roadmap to
democracy.”
The charter refers to the
proposed organic law for all 10 Asean members, which include the
Philippines. It was drafted by senior officials of the member
nations, and adopted and signed by the Asean leaders at the 13th
Asean Summit in Singapore on November 20.
Romulo said Myanmar promised
compliance with a roadmap to democracy 10 or 11 years ago, “and
they have been repeating the promise every year. But every year
since Secretary [Domingo] Siazon was there, it’s up to them, not
the nine members. We are just waiting.”
Among those being asked from
Myanmar is the release of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi,
and government’s negotiations with her and her political party,
National League for Democracy (NLD) as a “genuine political
force.”
At the summit, President Gloria
Arroyo appealed to the government of Myanmar to release Suu Kyi.
President Arroyo, in her speech
at the International Human Rights Celebration in Malacañang, said
the release of Suu Kyi could help Myanmar “move quickly toward a
democratic path.”
“You know the role that the
President played in stating the need for Myanmar to show that it has
truly made important steps in the roadmap to democracy. The more
important step is the freeing of Suu Kyi, as well as the inclusion
in the Constitutional and democratic process,” he said.
Romulo said they may or may not
seek the ratification of the Asean Charter in Congress, but they are
hoping that Myanmar would follow the preconditions.
“We told the Asean members that
we may have a difficult time in getting our treaty-making body in
the legislature to ratify and concur with the Asean Charter unless
there are really major steps in implementing the roadmap to
democracy,” he said.
Romulo recounted that when they
were in Singapore, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who heads the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said they may have a
difficult time ratifying the Asean Charter.
“It is up to Myanmar to show
that meaningful and significant steps have been taken starting with
the freeing of Suu Kyi, and the inclusion of the NLD in the
democratization and constitutional process,” he said.
Since May, Suu Kyi’s release
from house arrest has consistently been one of the international
advocacies of the Philippine government.
On May 30, the Philippines led
Asean in calling on Myanmar’s military leaders to reverse their
decision to extend Suu Kyi’s house arrest.
It was the first time that a
Philippine government official has called on all other Asian leaders
to rally behind Suu Kyi.
In a statement released earlier,
Romulo said, “The Philippines joins the call for the release of
Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners [in Myanmar]” and
that “. . . The Philippines deeply regrets the Myanmar
government’s decision to extend her house arrest. We urge the
Myanmar government to reconsider its decision.”
Myanmar’s military junta has
detained Suu Kyi since the 1990s, after her political party won in
the general elections. She was supposed to assume office as prime
minister of Myanmar after her group’s victory at the polls.
But the results of the polls were
nullified because the ruling military-led junta refused to hand over
power to Suu Kyi.
Besides batting for Suu Kyi’s
freedom, President Arroyo also urged Asean leaders to “accept its
responsibility to advance the cause of economic and social justice
within its membership,” after it “has taken tangible steps to be
a true union.”
She said the Philippines placed
great importance on its international responsibilities, which
included its duty to the Asean and in sending peacekeeping forces to
areas of conflict.
|
