Asean Members Have No Time to Waste

Source: Bangkok Post

 

New secretary-general says regional alliance must pull together to win international respect

 

Responding to criticism about how Asean responded to the crisis in Burma, its new secretary-general, former Thai Foreign Minister, Surin Pitsuwan, believes Asean governments will have to evolve in different ways to reach ''standards of governance, transparency, participation and decision making''.

 

''I still don't think we can directly impose these, but we need to evolve and that's why the principles of democracy, constitutionality and human rights are mentioned in the charter. Those are major general principles to be abided by, but each member must have its own way to achieve those goals. In general I think we need to have more efficient governance across the entire region and a more transparent, participatory process of decision making,'' Mr Surin said.

 

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