Burma still tops Asean Summit agenda

Upon his arrival in Singapore on Monday, Surayud will first be sitting in on the third Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle meeting to review cooperation projects and see if the schemes are benefiting people in the restive South.

The remaining eight summits will be related to Asean directly and Burma will be the main subject of discussion, notably the developments after the bloody unrest in September, said Vitavas Srivihok, the Foreign Ministry's director of Asean affairs.

Burma is also expected to be discussed in separate meetings scheduled with China, Japan, South Korea, India and European Union, he said.

However, few hot topics are expected to emerge from the discussions, especially since things are looking relatively positive in the juntaruled country after United Nations' special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's latest visit.

Gambari has told UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Kimoon that direct dialogue between the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was very likely.

Though there may be no additional proposals on Burma, the grouping is bound to look for ways to support Gambari's and the UN's efforts in pushing Burma toward democracy and national reconciliation, Vitavas said.

He also expects Asean to achieve a balance even though its partners have widely different stances toward Burma, ranging between extreme pressure from EU sanctions and full engagement from countries such as China.

However, even though Burma is everyone's favourite topic at the moment, Singapore is likely to try and steer the discussion to its main themes: climate change, energy and the environment.

Vitavas said the grouping should be able to sign the Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment by the end of the summit.

The declaration is among the dozen or so documents Asean leaders need to sign this year, he said.

The other important document waiting to be signed is the Asean Charter, which will make the 40yearold regional grouping into a rulebased organisation. The charter should also give birth to a human rights body to protect people's basic rights in the 10 member countries.

by Supalak G Khundee

The Nation