Surprise Pressure from Myanmar's Neighbors

Source: International Herald Tribune

An emerging rift among Asian leaders over Myanmar burst into the open at a regional summit meeting on Monday when the Philippine president suggested that her country might not ratify a new regional charter unless Myanmar committed to democratic reforms and released the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The belief of the Filipino people and the Philippine Congress, as well as my own, that those who will sign the Charter agree to the objective, spirit and intent of establishing a human rights body — the full protection of human rights within Asean," she said, reading out a prepared statement, a copy of which was forwarded to reporters. "With this in mind, the expectation of the Philippines is that if Myanmar signs the Charter, it is committed to returning to the path of democracy and release Aung San Suu Kyi. Until the Philippine Congress sees that happen, it would have extreme difficulty in ratifying the Asean Charter."

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