Thailand joins Indonesia in promoting free, fair elections in Myanmar

Abdul Khalik ,  The Jakarta Post – 02/15/2010 – http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/15/thailand-joins-ri-promoting-free-fair-elections-myanmar.html

It is in the interests of the ASEAN community to help Myanmar hold fair, free and transparent elections this year, to return democracy and peace to the country, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya says.

The visiting Thai foreign minister said in an interview here Sunday that as the two most democratic members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand and Indonesia could help Myanmar achieve this goal.

“Without being seen as interfering in Myanmar’s domestic issues, as friends and members of the ASEAN family we would like to see national reconciliation and peace in Myanmar. Holding free and fair elections will allow the country to bring peace and reconciliation back,” he said.

Piromya said a stable and democratic Myanmar would be of benefit to Thailand (which shares borders with the reclusive country) as well as to ASEAN in general.

Kasit said Thailand would offer training for Myanmarese officials to make sure the elections ran according to democratic principles.

“We will even provide observers for the elections,” he said.

Myanmar’s military ruler said last Friday that the long-awaited elections planned for some time this year would take place “soon” but declined to say when exactly.

Myanmar’s military government announced in early 2008 that the country’s first election in two decades would take place in 2010. But the junta still needs to pass necessary election laws to pave the way for the vote and then set a date.

“A free and fair election will take place soon,” Senior Gen. Than Shwe said in his annual message to mark the national holiday Union Day last Friday.

Seemingly signaling their intentions, Myanmar’s ruling junta released the deputy leader of the country’s pro-democracy party from nearly 7 years in detention, but offered no indication if he or the still-detained party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, would be allowed to take part in this year’s elections.

The release on Saturday of 82-year-old Tin Oo, who helped found the National League for Democracy with Suu Kyi, comes shortly before a UN envoy visits Myanmar (also known as Burma), to evaluate the regime’s progress on human rights.

Indonesia has voiced the need for Myanmar to include Suu Kyi and her party in the election, as well as to guarantee fair and transparent elections, vowing also that it was ready to send observers to Myanmar if asked by the junta.

However, Indonesia was also very careful to avoid being seen as meddling in Myanmar’s domestic affairs, with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa saying in an interview with The Jakarta Post that Indonesia chose to include those not considered democratic in the ASEAN process.

Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, has not yet decided whether to take part in the elections, saying the new 2008 constitution is unfair and will perpetuate military rule — a claim echoed by international rights groups.

Piromya said his two-day visit beginning Sunday was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Indonesia and Thailand as well as discussing with Marty ways to help solve regional and multilateral issues.

Malaysia calls on Myanmar to free Suu Kyi ahead of polls

(AFP) – http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jGhVo_2XzpcA6IBtDQEuT9wZVPdQ

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia Tuesday called on military-run Myanmar to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of national elections it expects to be held around October.

“We want a free, fair and an inclusive election. We should give everybody a chance, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told AFP, adding he thought the vote would be held “around October”.

“We hope she will be freed. We feel that giving all a chance is democracy. Then it becomes a legitimate election,” he added.

Myanmar’s junta has pledged to hold elections in 2010, but has not set a date for the polls, which would be the first since 1990, when it refused to recognise a landslide win by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic minorities have been deeply suspicious about the election, fearing the junta will use it to legitimise its rule.

Anifah said the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had taken a common stand in urging Myanmar to proceed with its vaunted “roadmap to democracy”.

“All the ASEAN countries say: ‘Let’s have a free and fair election’,” he said.

Malaysia had relatively close ties with Myanmar in the past, but the relationship cooled in recent years as Malaysia took a tougher line on the military regime.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said earlier this month that Myanmar’s elections are likely to be held around September but that they are shaping up to be a “farce” with Aung San Suu Kyi unable to run.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been held in detention at her lakeside villa in the Myanmar capital Yangon for 14 of the past 20 years.

US President Barack Obama’s administration has called for a free election in Myanmar as part of its policy of engagement with the reclusive nation, which is under tight sanctions imposed by the US and European nations.