TOKYO
(Reuters) – Myanmar’s authorities need
to keep calm and avoid violence in the face of protests against power outages
and should view them as a natural stage in a transition from military rule to
democracy, the head of the ASEAN grouping said on Thursday.
Demonstrations
have taken place in several towns in Myanmar this week, including the
commercial capital, Yangon, as citizens test the limit of democratic changes,
leaving the authorities struggling to respond.
After
tolerating the protests for days, police broke up a crowd in the town of Pyi
and several members of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition
party were detained for questioning in the city of Mandalay.
Association
of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said it
was important for Myanmar to stay the course and resist any temptation to
suppress dissent.
“If a
country or society aspires to open to democracy, it has to be prepared to deal
with popular participation, pressure, demand, conflicts, tension, in some cases
violence,” Surin, a former foreign minister of Thailand, told Reuters in an
interview.
“But a
country or a government will need to deal with it.”
Myanmar’s
military, which ruled for nearly 50 years following a 1962 coup, used force to
crush outbreaks of protests over the decades.
ASEAN
was for years supportive of Myanmar, opting for a policy of constructive
engagement when the United States and other Western powers were imposing
sanctions for its poor human rights record.
Myanmar
joined ASEAN in 1997 despite the doubts of the regional group’s Western
partners and the objections of supporters of Myanmar’s beleaguered
pro-democracy movement.
Myanmar’s
quasi-civilian government took over a year ago and launched broad economic and
political reforms.
“NO
VIOLENCE”
Surin
said ASEAN was ready to help Myanmar cope with pressures in case of shortages
of necessities such as water, food, or transportation, drawing on many members’
experiences.
“What
we would like to see is (that) there won’t be any disruptions, there won’t be
any violence in managing popular demands.”
This
week’s marches pose a test for reformist President Thein Sein – himself a
former junta general – who has freed hundreds of political prisoners, relaxed
censorship, started peace talks with ethnic rebels and held by-elections that
put Suu Kyi in parliament.
But the
reforms are likely to raise expectations that both the government and the
opposition might struggle to meet.
Supplying
electricity to the 60-million population is just one of the challenges facing
one of the poorest members of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc.
Asked
about the impact of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact
negotiated by nine nations, including four ASEAN members, Surin said it would
not hinder ASEAN’s own economic integration.
ASEAN,
ranging from impoverished Laos to resource-rich Indonesia to developed
Singapore, is planning a union which allows for a free flow of goods, capital,
services and labour by 2015. But many economists doubt the target is realistic.
Singapore,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei are also in the talks on the U.S.-led pact and
Surin said other ASEAN members may consider joining if membership proves
beneficial for the four.
“If
they benefit … it will be an incentive and encouragement for the rest to look
into it. Whatever they agree will not undermine or undercut the ASEAN’s own
economic integration.”
Kaori
Kaneko
Reuters
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