Malaysian foreign minister to visit Myanmar, unsure about meeting Suu Kyi
- From: "Chim" <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 20 Mar 2006 10:41:26 -0800
Updated:2006-03-20 08:04:40
Report: Malaysian foreign minister to visit Myanmar, unsure about
meeting Suu Kyi
ap
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's foreign minister will visit
Myanmar soon to monitor the country's democratic reforms but is
uncertain whether he will be allowed to meet pro-democracy opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a news report said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar's trip as an envoy of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations was to have taken place in January but was
postponed several times by Myanmar's military rulers for a variety of
reasons.
Syed Hamid said he would be leaving "soon" but declined to reveal the
exact date, The Sunday Star newspaper reported.
However, Syed Hamid indicated the trip would take place before an ASEAN
foreign ministers' retreat in Bali, Indonesia, on April 17-18.
"I am hoping to be able to file a report to the foreign ministers'
meeting," he was quoted as saying.
Foreign Ministry officials could not be reached Sunday for comment.
After intense pressure from its neighbors, Myanmar agreed at an ASEAN
summit in December to allow Syed Hamid to visit and verify the ruling
junta's claims - questioned by the United States and European Union -
that the country is making progress toward democracy.
Syed Hamid said he had specifically asked to meet Suu Kyi, who is
currently under house arrest and is not allowed to meet outsiders.
"So far there is no word from the junta," he was quoted as saying. "We
may not get what we want."
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has attained pariah status in the West
since 1990, when its military rulers refused to hand over power to Suu
Kyi's party after it won elections. Suu Kyi has spent almost 10 of the
last 16 years in confinement by the junta.
ASEAN has been chided by the West for not pressing Myanmar's military,
in power since 1962, to restore civilian rule.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. The information contained in the
AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated
Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
03/19/06 03:33 EST
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