Surin gets mandate to drive burma aid effort

Foreign Minister Hassan Warayuda was the most vocal during the emergency Asean meeting on Monday in Singapore.

Interviews with officials attending the meeting revealed the content discussion and extreme pressure among ministers on Foreign Minister Nyan Win which eventually left Burma with no choice but to accept assistance from the international community through Asean.

To do such a mammoth job, the Asean foreign ministers agreed to set up a special task force. At the meeting, Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan was given a full mandate to coordinate all Asean efforts as well as those from UN and other international organisations.

This is a first time Asean foreign ministers have raised the profile of the Asean chief to such a high level. In the past, they have not endorsed any secretary-general in such a way. Under the new Asean Charter, which awaits ratification by all ten members, the grouping's chief will play a larger role in presenting Asean's voice to the international forum and follow-up actions on members' compliance with agreements and regulations.

As the next chair of Asean, Thailand has been pushing for a greater role and mandate for the Asean chief so that the grouping can be efficiently run and represented in the international arena.

A senior official from a member of Asean, who asked not to be identified, said Warayuda minced no words in presenting Indonesia's views on the grave situation in Burma.

Before he touched on Rangoon's response to the cyclone relief aid, he discussed Indonesia's experience in handling the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. He said it took three months at least to deal with emergencies that

resulted from the catastrophe and another three years to recover from the tsunami.

Warayuda also talked about the growing frustration among Asean colleagues and the international community, which do not have access to the affected areas. It is a difficult situation for Asean.

Outlining the first choice, he pointed out that Burma can open up the country and let the UN and international assistance and relief officials enter. Over the past two weeks, these organisations have been eager to help the suffering people of Burma with humanitarian assistance.

He said the second choice will require the leadership role of Asean in bridging the gap between Burma and the outside world. A special task force, comprising two officials from each member country, will be set up to coordinate all the assistance coming inside Burma. That way, Asean will have to be at the forefront.

The last option would be the most damaging to Burma and Asean, according to Warayuda - if Asean failed to produce any positive outcome from Monday's meeting.

Several Western countries have already debated and labelled the nature of Burmese response as a crime against humanity. As such, they want to invoke the principle of responsibility to protect, which was endorsed by the UN in 2005.

In order to save lives in the Irrawaddy Basin, France has proposed airdrops inside Burma.

These options were mentioned earlier by senior Indonesian officials during the Sunday working dinner attended by Asean senior officials ahead of the ministerial meeting. It took several phone consultations between Foreign Minister Nyan Win and the junta generals in Nayphidaw over the working lunch on Monday before Burma yielded to the second option.

The four-and-half-hour meeting ended with relief when Burma agreed to have Asean coordinating the aid, although the details have yet to be worked out.

"The devil is in the detail," said another official from an Asean member country. To show Burma's goodwill, Nyan Win said that Rangoon would accept 30 doctors from each Asean member to provide medical treatment and it was willing to host the planned pledging conference, scheduled for Sunday.

With a new mandate, Surin and two Asean officials flew to Rangoon yesterday to further assess the situation in Burma. He will also coordinate with Burmese authorities and discuss the details and structure of the Asean task force and best ways to carry out his mission.

Surin is scheduled to meet various Burmese leaders. As of last night, nobody could confirm if he would meet General Than Shwe during the visit.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive today to discuss the UN assistance to Burma. Then he will fly to Sichuan, China to assess the earthquake damage. Over the weekend, he will attend the pledging conference. Thailand will be represented by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama. More than thirty countries have expressed their intention to attend the conference.

Asean and UN signed a cooperation agreement last year. Both organisations have worked together in ending the conflict in Cambodia and subsequent rehabilitation of the war-torn country.