Rights group blasts Burma offer to host next Asean summit

Jakarta - Burma's offer Friday to host the Asean summit in 2014 has drawn flak from human rights groups, which said the country's new elected government needs to improve its act first.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene confirmed that 'Myanmar (Burma) and Laos have requested an exchange of chairmanships,' which would make Burma take the 2014 slot in Asean's usually alphabetical rotation of chair and host nation.

There is precedent for such swaps. Indonesia is chairing the summits this year instead of Brunei. Cambodia is to host the summits in 2012 and Brunei in 2013.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa hinted that it was unlikely that a decision on Burma's proposal would be reached at the 18th Asean summit, held on Saturday and Sunday.

'I have a feeling, personally, that this is not a matter to be decided on here and now there will be a process to ascertain the readiness of Burma to accept the chairmanship in 2014,' he said.

Military-run Burma, was originally scheduled to chair an Asean Summit in 2005, but it bowed out due to widespread condemnation of its poor human rights record and refusal to implement political reforms.

The country held a general election in November that has brought to power a government led by the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, headed by former general Thein Sein.

The election, which excluded opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest at the time, and her National League for Democracy party, was condemned as a sham by most Western democracies.

'Rewarding Burma with Asean's chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region,' said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director for activist group Human Rights Watch.

'Asean leaders need to decide if they will let Burma demote Asean to the laughing stock of intergovernmental forums,' she added.