ASEAN and political change in Myanmar: Towards a regional initiative?

Contemporary Southeast Asia

Volumn 30, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 351-378

  Haacke, Jürgen ^a  

^a LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

AIPMC; ASEAN; Cyclone Nargis; Jakarta Initiative on Myanmar; Myanmar; National reconciliation

Indexed keywords

EID: 85050413341     PISSN: 0129797X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1355/cs30-3a     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Myanmar’s seven-step roadmap includes the reconvening of the National Convention, the drafting of a new constitution, its adoption through national referendum, the holding of free and fair elections for Pyithu Hluttaws (legislative bodies) according to the new constitution, the convening of Hluttaws, and the building of a modern, developed and democratic nation by the elected state leaders, as well as the government and other central organs.
2. “SPDC Spoke Authoritative Team meets Special Adviser to UN Secretary General”, New Light of Myanmar, 8 March 2008.
3. According to official figures, more than 78,000 people perished, with a further 56,000 missing. The UN estimates that 2.5 million people were affected.
4. See Announcement No. 7/2008 of 29 May 2008 in New Light of Myanmar, 30 May 2008.
5. Statement by ASEAN Chair, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, Singapore, 20 July 2008 .
6. Myanmar’s administrative capital was moved from Yangon to Naypyidaw (also spelled Nay Pyi Taw) in November 2005. See Maung Aung Myoe, The Road to Naypyitaw: Making Sense of the Myanmar Government Decision to Move its Capital, Asia Research Institute, Working Paper Series, No. 79 (Singapore: National University of Singapore, November 2006).
7. Joint Communique of the 36th ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, Phnom Penh, 16–17 June 2003 .
8. On the September 2007 protests, see for instance International Crisis Group, Burma/Myanmar: After the Crackdown, Asia Report No. 144, 31 January 2008; and UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, A/HCR/6/14, 7 December 2007.
9. For a more detailed discussion of these developments, see Jürgen Haacke, “ASEAN and the Situation in Myanmar/Burma”, in Myanmar/Burma: Challenges and Perspectives, edited by Xiaolin Guo (Stockholm: Institute for Security & Development Policy, 2008), pp. 131–58, also available online .
10. Statement by ASEAN Chair, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo in New York, 27 September 2007 .
11. ASEAN Chairman’s statement on Myanmar, 20 November 2007 .
12. For details on ASEAN’s relationship with Myanmar see Ruukun Katanyuu, “Beyond Non-Interference in ASEAN: The Association’s Role in Myanmar’s National Reconciliation and Democratization”, Asian Survey 46, no. 6 (2006): 825–45; Jürgen Haacke, Myanmar’s Foreign Policy: Domestic Influences and International Implications (London: Routledge for IISS, 2006), Ch. 3; Pavin Chachavalpongpun, “Neither Constructive, Nor Engaging: The Debacle of ASEAN’s Burmese Policy”, paper presented at Conference on Between Isolation and Internationalization: the State of Burma, at Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Stockholm, 8–9 May 2008.
13. Singapore’s foreign minister has revealed that “till today, I don’t understand why Myanmar thought that they were better off dealing directly with the UN, than with the UN through ASEAN”. See Transcript of Interview of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo with the local media on the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, 16 July 2008 .
14. “Southeast Asian Summit opens with Myanmar row”, Forbes.com, 20 November 2007 .
15. “Lee Kuan Yew: Myanmar crisis destabilizes ASEAN region”, Radio Singapore International, 6 October 2007 .
16. Transcript of Reply by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to questions on ASEAN and Myanmar in Parliament on 22 October 2007 .
17. Djoko Susilo, “Singapore and Myanmar junta”, Jakarta Post, 3 March 2008.
18. Transcript of Reply by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo to questions on ASEAN and Myanmar in Parliament on 22 October 2007 .
19. Quoted in “S’pore’s Lee criticises Myanmar military rulers”, Reuters (India), 8 January 2008 .
20. Supalak G Khundee and Piyanart Srivalo, “PM suggests 6-Party Talks”, The Nation, 16 October 2007 .
21. “Human Rights Issue not on Samak’s Agenda”, The Nation, 1 May 2008 .
22. Saw Yan Naing, “Angry Reaction to Samak’s ‘Suu Kyi is a Tool’ Remark”, The Irrawaddy, 26 August 2008.
23. Alberto Romulo, “On the Issue of Myanmar”, Statement, 21 November 2005 .
24. Martin Abbugao, “Myanmar faces calls for Suu Kyi release at Asia Summit”, Agence France Press, 21 November 2007.
25. Office of the President, Republic of the Philippines, “PGMA to continue working for release of Myanmar’s Daw Aung Suu Kyi-Bunye”, 22 November 2007 .
26. The governments in Phnom Penh and Vientiane have adopted a similar position.
27. Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Nation supports UN role, respects Myanmar sovereignty”, 18 March 2008 .
28. Chairman’s Statement of the 11th ASEAN Summit, Kuala Lumpur, 12 December 2005 .
29. Syed Hamid Albar, “It is not possible to defend Myanmar”, Asian Wall Street Journal, 24 July 2006 .
30. For details of the activities of AIPMC, see . Some views are spelled out in Asian Voices: Myanmar’s Threat to Regional Security, 2006. On the influence of parliaments in Southeast Asia, see Jürgen Rüland, Clemens Jürgenmezer, Michael H. Nelson, and Patrick Ziegenhain, Parliaments and Political Change in Southeast Asia: Comparative Study of India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005).
31. Lim Kit Siang, .
32. Quoted in “Myanmar must defend itself if brought to UN Security Council: Indonesia”, Agence France Press, 23 August 2006 .
33. “Indonesia unsatisfied with Myanmar’s excuse”, Antara News, 29 September 2007 .
34. Hassan Wirajuda, Speech to Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 2 October 2007; “Myanmar junta should be offered shared rule: Indonesia FM”, Antara News, 3 October 2007 .
35. Quoted in Haslinda Amin and Arijit Ghosh, “Sudarsono says elections in Myanmar wouldn’t reduce army’s role”, Bloomberg, 15 November 2007.
36. Quoted in “Indonesia wants Suu Kyi in Myanmar democracy process”, Agence France Presse, 27 February 2008 .
37. “RI, China agree Myanmar crisis cannot be solved through pressures”, Antara News, 21 November 2007 .
38. “Myanmar junta reassures SBY on cooperation”, Jakarta Post, 18 October 2007.
39. This statement focuses on the early release of political detainees, the creation of the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups to achieve an inclusive national reconcil-iation, and the adoption of the necessary measures to address the political, economic, humanitarian and human rights issues in Myanmar. See UNSC, Statement by the President of the Security Council, A/PRST/2007/37, 11 October 2007.
40. Security Council SC/9171, Security Council Press Statement on Myanmar, 15 November 2007 .
41. “House rejects new Myanmar ambassador”, Jakarta Post, 8 March 2008 .
42. See the Statement of the United Nations Country Team in Myanmar on the Occasion of the UN Day, Yangon, 24 October 2007 . Charles Petrie, head of the UN country team was subsequently expelled.
43. “Clarification on Myanmar’s situation to UNSG’s Special Envoy Mr Ibrahim Agboola Gambari”, New Light of Myanmar, 7 November 2007.
44. “SPDC Spoke Authoritative Team meets Special Adviser to UN Secretary General”, New Light of Myanmar, 8 March 2008.
45. For Gambari’s assessment, see “I do not see an alternative to dialogue”, The Irrawaddy, 4 April 2008 .
46. The Group of Friends is a consultative forum for developing a shared approach in support of the implementation of the UNSG good offices mandate. It comprises Australia, China, France, India, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia, EU Presidency, United Kingdom, United States, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
47. Amitav Acharya, “Democracy in Burma: Does Anybody Really Care?”, Yale Global Online, 1 September 2005 .
48. Michael Green and Derek Mitchell, “Asia’s Forgotten Crisis: A New Approach to Burma”, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2007, pp. 155–58.
49. Michael Vatikiotis, “ASEAN key to Myanmar change”, Asia Times Online, 23 October 2007 .
50. See Bertil Lintner, “China no sure bet on Myanmar”, Asia Times Online, 8 November 2007 .
51. Elaine Kurtenbach, “China’s CNPC and Yunnan sign Burma-related Pipeline Agreement”, The Irrawaddy, 3 December 2007 .
52. C.P.F. Luhulima, “Forty Years of ASEAN-what to do with Myanmar”, Jakarta Post, 16 November 2007.
53. See Sorpong Peou, Conflict Neutralization in the Cambodia War: From Battlefield to Ballot-Box (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1997), Ch. 1.
54. Martin Smith, State of Strife: The Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict in Burma (Washington D.C.: East-West Center, 2007); also see Mary P. Callahan, Political Authority in Burma’s Ethnic Minority States: Devolution, Occupation, and Coexistence (Washington D.C.: East-West Center, 2007).
55. Government of the Union of Myanmar, Announcement No. 1/2007, 4 October 2007, reprinted in The New Light of Myanmar, 5 October 2007 . For a useful overview of government viewpoints on Suu Kyi’s alleged provocations, see .
56. The full text is available at .
57. Rizal Sukma, “Time to act on Myanmar democratization”, Jakarta Post, 4 March 2008.
58. For an overview of the human toll and economic damage, see Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Report: A report prepared by the Tripartite Core Group comprised of Representatives of the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations with the support of the Humanitarian and Development Community, July 2008, p. 1 .
59. “A Conversation with Surin Pitsuwan”, 14 May 2008 .
60. Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo’s interview with Dow Jones, 16 July 2008 .
61. Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Report: A report prepared by the Tripartite Core Group comprised of Representatives of the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations with the support of the Humanitarian and Development Community, July 2008, Section V. .
62. Mark Duffield, On the Edge of No Man’s Land: Chronic Emergency in Myanmar, Centre for Governance and International Affairs, Working Paper, No. 1 (UK: University of Bristol, 2008).
63. UN News Centre, “Top UN Official Discusses cyclone response with Myanmar’s Prime Minister”, 24 July 2008 .
64. Greg Sheridan, “Jakarta proposes to use cyclone in push for radical change in Burma”, The Australian, 2 June 2008 .
65. In the event of her release, there would also be the question whether Suu Kyi would want to assume representative or ministerial office (the fact that her two sons are UK citizens does not necessarily pose an obstacle to her assuming a political role, but the regime might wish to frustrate this by construing a case according to which her alleged continued allegiance to Britain prevents her candidature).
66. Wai Moe, “Indonesia Taking an Active Role in Burma’s Affairs”, The Irrawaddy, 25 July 2008.
67. Aung Zaw, “It’s a Process Perhaps, but a Failed one”, The Irrawaddy, 28 August 2008. For Gambari’s reflections on this visit, see “Interview: Taking a Deep Breath”, The Irrawaddy, 22 September 2008.