Burma's
formal request to chair Asean in 2014 has sparked debate in the media.
The Burmese government says it is now ready to
take the opportunity to lead the organisation, after passing up the opportunity
to do so in 2006.
At that time, Burma said it needed to focus on
managing domestic affairs, although it was widely believed that the decision
was a result of pressure from fellow Asean members and the international
community.
Now that Burma has been approved to lead the
organisation in 2014, it is interesting to follow arguments that have arisen
surrounding the issue. Many scholars and government officials have indicated a
tendency to support Burma's willingness to take the opportunity to chair Asean,
believing that giving it this opportunity will serve as an incentive to
continue political reforms there.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa,
acting as a representative of the current Asean chair, recently visited Burma
to assess the country's readiness to chair Asean. Apparently, the minister was
quite impressed with progress made by the present Burmese government, and said
the ongoing political reform was "irreversible".
Conversely, civil society groups and the Asean
Inter-Parliamentary Burma Caucus (AIPBC) called for the postponement of Burma's
plea, doubting the government's seriousness in its proposed transition to
democracy.
Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Asean Charter
reaffirms the traditional principle of alphabetical order in deciding the
rotation for Asean chairmanship, stating that "The chairmanship of Asean
shall rotate annually based on the alphabetical order of the English names of
member states."
Therefore, according to this rule, Burma
should not become Asean chair until 2016. This imperative, nonetheless, has
never really been applied in the strictest manner. There have been several
cases when members have requested to take the role earlier due to certain considerations,
including this year's Indonesian chairmanship.
Burma clearly also has its own reasons for
requesting an earlier turn. One thing that might come to mind is the fact that
2014 is only one year before the implementation of the Asean Community in 2015,
and Burma may want to take the opportunity to improve its political standing in
the international arena.
Leading the organisation in the vital stage of
realising this long-desired vision would undoubtedly be a prestigious position
for any member. Looking at it from this point of view, Burma may want to prove
it can also contribute something to the organisation it joined in 1997.
Some promising developments have in fact taken
place in Burma since the November 2010 elections.
The new administration under President Thein
Sein was reported to have released around 200 political prisoners last month,
an indication of its seriousness in implementing political reform. It also
issued a new regulation giving workers the right to form associations and to
strike.
However, despite the good news, roughly 2,000
political prisoners remain in jail in Burma, including key opposition actors.
In addition to that, tension and conflicts involving several ethnic minorities
also persist in the country.
In this regard, Asean should have taken
careful consideration, particularly because 2014 is a crucial year for the
grouping in realising the Asean Community by 2015.
Externally, Asean needs to consider the
reaction from its dialogue partners, particularly the United States and the
European Union, which have consistently pushed both Asean and Burma for
political reform with respect to human rights. Internally, Asean must seriously
consider whether Burma's leadership in 2014 will disrupt its path toward the
idea of a people-centered community.
A significant shift has been made by the Obama
administration in its Burma policy. Unlike in the past, the US now has been
more open and has been showing a softer approach toward the military junta.
US coordinator for policy on Burma, Derek Mitchell,
after his visit to the country last September, noted that there were indeed
some encouraging signs toward political reform, but remained concerned about
the political prisoners who were yet to be released.
Similarly, UN rights envoy Tomas Ojeo Quintana
in August also underlined that there were still many serious human rights
violations in Burma.
Mitchell's and Quintana's claims are
reasonable, and may determine what kind of policy response will be issued by
the US government. Asean, therefore, should be aware if its decision to endorse
Burma's proposal will trigger a strong reaction from the US and other dialogue
partners as such moves have in the past.
Should they object and boycott Burma's
chairmanship, the continuity of Asean-initiated regional cooperation, such as
the ARF and the EAS, would be put at risk. This, in turn, would also jeopardize
Asean's plan to "strengthen Asean centrality in regional cooperation and
community-building" as laid out in the APSC blueprint.
Internally, it is also important to consider
Burma's commitment to put Asean's vision to become a people-centered community
into real action and policies. One among other aspects of this vision is the
engagement between Asean and civil society, which can be represented by the
Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC).
During previous executions of the ACSC, the
Burmese government has indicated strong objections toward civil society's
participation in the interface meeting between CSOs and the Asean leaders at
the summit, both by rejecting the Burma CSO delegate and replacing it with a
government-appointed representative.
In fact, it is difficult to make a good and
objective assessment of Burma's readiness to lead the organisation in 2014,
particularly because it has only been one year since the country began the
political transition process. It would have been wise, therefore, not to rush
into the country's chairmanship.
It would have been better, both for Asean and
for Burma, to give the Burmese government and people time to focus on domestic
political developments and to develop its capacity to lead a people-centered
Asean.
In 2016, when Myanmar's political transition
and leadership capacity have achieved a higher and more stable level, there
should be no more doubt for Asean to present the Burmese people with their
rightful opportunity to chair and lead the organisation.
Bambang Hartadi Nugroho
Jakarta/The Nation | ANN
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